The Three Little Pigs : a horror novel
by thinkstoomuch
Summary: A novel I wrote about the three little pigs - it's better than the story. it's longer, scarier, has new characters, bloodier, much more violence and description - it can't get much better than this.
1. Chapter 1

**1**

It was a cold, winter morning.  Mother was in her bed, sick from something that wouldn't let go.  My brothers and I did not know what to do.  She had been coughing nonstop for the past two days.  Her skin was turning blue, her eyes becoming gray.  We tried treating her with the only medicine available in the village, Pig Potion, a bottle of some liquid that is supposed to help any pig who is sickly.  It did not work this time.  My mother was only growing sicker.  She was dying and we could not do anything.

            There were four of us pigs: my two brothers, my mother, and of course me.  I was the oldest of the children.  My youngest brother, Timmy, was not very bright.  In fact, he was quite stupid.  He never made good choices, and was always very stubborn.  I would always tell him that he needs to grow up and be more responsible, but he never listened.  The second oldest was my brother Arnie.  Sometimes Arnie would remind me of the younger Timmy, but he has shown growth in his personality recently.  Arnie isn't very smart but he does use common sense.  Timmy, on the other hand, lost his common sense soon after being born, if not before.  I was the smart one.  I had the best grades in school.  I won the seventeen academic awards for being so intelligent.  I was the one always getting my brothers out of trouble.  I don't think that will ever change.

            Now I had to help my mother no matter what it takes.  How?  I had not thought of that yet.  Our village consisted of no hospitals, no doctors, and no medicine other than the local Pig Potion.  We had only one more option, but it was far too dangerous.

            All the pigs in the village have heard about the Medicine Pig in the woods.  He is somewhere deep in the woods and supposedly has treatments for everything.  When others are sick, brave pigs would try to go find him.  None have ever returned.  Not one has outsmarted the Wolf who lurks in those woods, waiting for any pig to try to get through.  Once he sees the pig, he devours it immediately.  But even when he eats pig after pig, the Wolf is never satisfied.  He never lets a single pig escape.  We don't even know if the Medicine Pig exists.  We don't know if he is still alive.  But we will never know unless someone could survive the Wolf long enough to meet him.  But just saying his name was scary enough to make one shiver.

            "Charlie," said my brother Timmy.  "What are we going to do?  The Pig Potion does not work.  We've tried it again and again.  Soup, hot tea, nothing works.  What are we going to do?"

            "I don't know," I confessed.  "There's nothing we can do."

            "What do you mean, Charlie?" said Arnie angrily.  "There is something we can do.  We can go to the Medicine Pig.  He will know what to do.  He will have the cure."

            I shook my head.  "We can't do that, Arnie.  The Medicine Pig is too far in the woods to get anything from.  No one has gone for him and came back alive.  No one can escape the Wolf."

            "We can," said Arnie.  "There's three of us.  He can't kill us all."

            "Yeah," agreed Timmy.  "We can team up on him."

            I had to admit it.  They were being brave.  But they were still blinding themselves from the danger.  If the hundreds of pigs before us could not do it, what made them think we could.  This was not a game we could just start over.  Once a pig is dead, it is forever.  We were not cats.  We did not have nine lives to spare.  We were mortal pigs who were not very physically fit.  What match were we against the ferocious Wolf?

            "You both are out of your minds," I told them.  "We can't go.  How are we going to defend ourselves?  Oink at him to scare him away?  We are too slow, we are too small, and we are not nearly enough pigs to fight a battle like that."

            "But we have to," said Arnie.  "What about mother?  We can't just let her die.  I do not want to deal with the Wolf either, but we have to help mother.  Perhaps we will be first to defeat the Wolf and see the Medicine Pig.  We have to try, Charlie."

            The thought of having to face the horrible, menacing Wolf seemed to be the worst thing in the world.  We all have heard the stories of how viscous this wolf can be, and how he can rip apart an innocent little pig in seconds.  I did not think we could do it.  It was a suicide mission.  I was not convinced.

            My mother, who was busy sleeping on her bed, quietly awoke.  She opened her eyes to see us over her.  She struggled to talk, coming out with very raspy words.  "My sons, your faces are so gloomy.  I assume that you still have found nothing to cure me.  Sadly to say, I do not think I will last much longer."

            "Don't say that, mother," said Arnie.  "You will live.  Be optimistic."

            "You are in denial, Arnie," said Mother.  "I am dying.  It will be soon too.  I can feel it.  It could be less than a week before I pass."

            "What should we do, Mother?" I asked.  "Nothing is working.  The Pig Potion does nothing and there is no other medicine in this entire village."

            "There is only one thing to do," said Mother.  "If I am to live, you three must go to the Medicine Pig and retrieve a cure.  That is my only hope."

            "But mother," I said.  "What about the Wolf?  He has killed every pig who has gone into those woods.  How will we survive?"

            "You must listen to me," responded Mother faintly.  "I believe in you three.  If all of you stick together to the end, you will survive this.  If there is no teamwork, you will die and so will I."  She coughed several times and continued.  "I don't have much time.  You only have a few days to do this."

            "But what if we don't make it to the Medicine Pig by nightfall?" I asked.  "The Wolf will eat us in our sleep."

            "You must build a house," said Mother.  "You must build a strong, sturdy house that will keep you safe through the night.  Whenever you are in trouble, you can run back to your safe house."

            "Are you sure this will work mother?" I asked.  "We are just three ordinary pigs."

            "Yes, I'm sure.  I would not send you to do this if I did not think you could do it.  You are smart young pigs.  No, actually Charlie is the only smart one out of you three.  But if you follow his guidance and each of you cooperate with each other, you will come back unharmed.  Be alert at all times.  And I must tell you this again, do not split up.  If you split up, at least one of you will die.  Three is a better match against the Wolf than one or two.  You must stick together throughout this entire thing."

            "We will, Mother," said Arnie.  "We won't let you down."

            How could Arnie say that?  It was the Wolf we were talking about.  How can he guarantee her that everything will be all right?  Did my mother really believe we could do this?  I didn't know the answers.  But Mother gave us an order, so that was what we had to do.

            "Get what is most important to take with you," said Mother.  "But don't forget the ax in the shed and your baseball bat.  Those will be your protection."

            So we did as she told us and gathered up what we most needed.  We got blankets to sleep in, pillows, a flashlight, some food, and the baseball bat and ax Mother told us to bring.

            When we were all done, we joined again in my mother's bedroom.  "We are all ready," said Timmy.  "Here is some food and some bottles of water if you need them."  He placed the provisions on the table next to the bed.

            "Thank you," Mother said.  "You must move quickly and build quickly.  Once the Wolf spots you, there is almost no stopping him.  Many pigs have died from this beast.  Don't be another victim."

            "We will do our best," I said.  "We will take care of each other to the very end."

            "That's my boy," she said.  "You must not wait.  You must leave now.  The longer you wait, the sooner nightfall will come.  You don't want to be walking around the woods at night.  That is when the Wolf kills the most."

            "We understand," I said.  "We will see you in a couple of days."

            "We will find the Medicine Pig and you will be cured," added Arnie.  "Everything will be fine."

            We all hugged Mother and said our good-byes.  Now it was time for us to do what we agreed to do.  We all were terrified of the Wolf, but it was only me who would admit it.  I opened the door and we walked out.

            I took one last look at our village.  Pigs walked around happily as if nothing was wrong.  Well, nothing was wrong for them.  For us, our lives were at stake.  We could be dead before the day was over.

            We walked down the streets, past our old school, past our only supermarket, past my favorite library, and past our best friends' house; I noticed my friend coming outside and stopped.

            "Hey you guys!" yelled our friend Frank.  He was a rather chubby pig and didn't move very fast.  He rushed over to us.  When he caught his breath he asked, "What are you guys doing over on this part of town?  Were you planning on giving me a surprise visit?"

            "No," I said.  "We were leaving."

            "Leaving?  Leaving to where?"

            "We are going through the woods to see the Medicine Pig," I told him.

            "What?  You can't be going there.  The Wolf will kill you.  He will rip you apart like he did all the other pigs who went into those woods."

            "We believe otherwise," said Arnie.  "We will make it back alive and you will see that pigs like us can outsmart the Wolf.  That big, bad Wolf isn't as tough as he think he is."

            "So I guess we should get going," I said.  "We have to build a safe house in the woods.  That could take a while."

            "Wait," said Frank.  "Let me go with you."

            "Go with us?  You can't go with us."

            "Why not?" questioned Frank.

            "This is not your battle, it's ours," I said.  "You may be killed."

            "Four pigs is better than three."

            "You're fat," I told him.  "You don't run fast, and you would be the most likely to get killed."

            "I will not be killed," he argued.  "That big, bad Wolf does not scare me.  I can help you guys."

            "You're not coming!" I yelled.  "You need to stay here."

            "Please let me come," Frank begged.  "I can bring food.  We have lots of food at my house."

            Food?  I couldn't resist.  We didn't bring a lot of food with us, and if we were to shop for food, we might not have enough to buy from the Medicine Pig.

            "Fine," I said.  "You can come if you bring a basket full of food."

            "Thank you!" Frank said.  He rushed into his house.  About a minute later, he came out with a picnic basket with a lid.  He showed us what was in it and we were definitely satisfied.  There was enough food to last possibly two weeks in the woods.

            We continued our travel through the village and neared the woods.  The closer I got, the more I was afraid.  In the woods was a huge, ferocious beast, waiting for any little pig to come into his territory.  

            We were at the edge of the woods now.  The only ones who were there besides us was a salesman with sold three things: straw, sticks, and bricks.

            "Going to try and reach the Medicine Pig, are you?" asked the salesman.  "You may need some supplies."

            "He's right," said Frank.  "We need to build a safe house, right?  We can buy everything we need from right here."

            "I think we should find a good spot first," I said.  "There's no reason to carry a bunch of stuff around before we even know where we are going.  We can come back in an hour or so, when we find a good spot.  Let's go."

We continued walking into the woods.

            "Wait," said the salesman.  "I hope you four know what you are getting into.  This isn't a rat we are talking about here.  This is the Wolf.  He is extremely dangerous.  Are you sure you want to do this?"

            "We're sure," said Arnie.  "We have to do this."

            "Okay," said the salesman.  "But by the time you come back to get your supplies, I don't think you'll feel the same way." 


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

            We were very alert.  I had the baseball bat and Arnie had the ax.  If anything besides us pigs moved, we planned to fight to the death.  After about twenty minutes of attentive creeping around the woods, we found a decent spot.

            "This looks good," I said.  "What do you guys think?"

            They all shook their heads in agreement.  Arnie sat down on a large log.  Everyone else did the same.

            "Maybe we can reach the Medicine Pig and never have to worry about the Wolf," said Frank.  "Perhaps we can avoid him the entire time."

            "I don't think so," I said.  "That was only about a half-hour.  We have a lot more traveling to do."

            We rested at the log for a few minutes.  Then Timmy said, "Let's go back to the salesman.  We can get some supplies now."

            "Okay," I agreed.

            "I want the house to be made of straw," said Timmy.  "I love straw."

            "You idiot," I said.  "You don't make a house out of straw.  That's no protection."

            "Says who?" questioned Timmy.  "You?  I bet I would do just fine in a house of straw."

            "No you wouldn't," I told him.  "You would be killed.  We need to use bricks for our house.  It will be very difficult for the Wolf to get in a brick house.  I don't think he is that strong or has anything powerful enough to knock down bricks."

            "I hate bricks," said Timmy.  "They're ugly.  I don't even know why people use them.  It's just a bunch of rectangular rocks glued together.  Straw is just so much homier."

            "It's not about what feels homier, Timmy," I said.  "It's about what is safe."

            "Well, you know what?  I don't have to listen to you, Charlie.  We aren't at home anymore.  I can do whatever I want to.  You can't boss me around out here."

            "You need to be bossed around," I said.  "You're not smart enough to handle things by yourself.  If we let you do anything you wanted to, you'll be dead by nightfall."

            "We'll see about that," said Timmy.  "I think I'll do just fine without you.  What about you, Arnie?  Are you just going to let the bookworm here boss you around?  You don't have to listen to him out here.  We are on our own now."

            I looked at Arnie.  Arnie seemed to be giving in to what Timmy was saying.

            "He's right, Charlie," Arnie said.  "You do boss us around.  Maybe we don't need your help.  Perhaps we need to do something on our own for a change."

            I could not believe what I was hearing.  Those idiots actually thought they'd be better off without me.  What could I do?  I couldn't force them to listen to me.

            I turned my head to see what Frank's reaction to all this was.  Frank wasn't there.  "Where's Frank?" I asked.

            Timmy and Arnie looked around.  They didn't see him either.  Where did Frank go?  A fat guy like him couldn't have gotten far.

            "There he is," Arnie said, pointing.  Frank had wandered far into the woods.  Where was he going?

            "Frank!" I yelled.  "What are you doing?  Come back here!"

            Frank turned around and waved.  "I found something!" he said.  "It's a tree full of fruit.  Check it out!"

            "Come back here!" I repeated.  Instead of returning, Frank started to pick fruit off the tree.  We walked toward him.

            "I don't think we should have brought him," said Arnie.  "He's not going to help the situation."

            Then I saw something far in the woods.  I stopped and told the others to stop.  I couldn't tell what it was at first, but it was coming closer.  The closer it got, the more I could tell just how big it was.  It was coming up behind Frank.

            "What is that?" asked Timmy.  "Is that the Wolf?"

            It was.  The Wolf was free and ready for killing.  We did not move an inch, but Frank did.  He did not see the Wolf behind him.  Frank was still picking off fruits.  I saw him take a bite of one.  He nodded, happy with the taste.

            "What are we going to do?" asked Timmy.  "Are we going to just let the Wolf get Frank?  We've got to help him."

            The Wolf moved slowly and silently.  Frank didn't notice a thing.  He was enthralled by the delicious fruit.  He knew the danger of being in these woods, yet he did not look out for his own safety.  The Wolf was definitely moving for Frank.  I had to do something.

            "Frank!" I yelled.  "Run!"

            Frank turned around and saw the Wolf.  He threw a fruit at the Wolf and dropped the rest.  Then he ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.  The Wolf was quite angry.  He wiped the fruit out of his eyes and charged after Frank.

            I jumped behind the large log so that the Wolf would not spot me.  My brothers did the same.  We peeked over the log so that we could see what was going on.

            "Guys!" Frank yelled.  "Help!"

            We wanted to help Frank, but we were too astonished by the size and quickness of the Wolf.  The Wolf was everything we've heard about him.  In fact, he was bigger than I had imagined him.  I was frozen in place.

            Arnie got up and grabbed his ax off the ground.  Frank was running in our direction.  The Wolf was closing in on him.  Whatever Arnie was planning, he needed to do it quickly.

            When Frank passed us, Arnie rushed out with the ax.  He raised it in the air and started to swing.  But before he could swing it all the way around, he was slammed by the Wolf's powerful arm!  The ax flew out of Arnie's hands and landed behind me, narrowly missing my face.  Arnie was tossed through the air for what seemed like ten seconds and hit the ground hard about twenty feet away.  Timmy got up and ran over to him to make sure he was okay.

            "He's okay!" confirmed Timmy.  "The ground broke his fall!" 

            I brought my attention back to Frank.  He was still running, and the Wolf was still behind him.  Then the Wolf paused, sprang into the air about fifteen feet and slammed himself onto Frank, drilling him into the ground.

            "Aaaah!  Help!" Frank screamed.  "Nooooo!"

The Wolf threw up his large paws.  I could see his incredibly sharp claws out and ready for slashing.  He swung his massive arms wildly in the air and growled ferociously.  His arms then slammed downward, his claws tearing into Frank's flesh.  I saw a large pink hunk of Frank's flesh soar in the air and land on the ground.  Another slash of the claws and blood splattered in all directions.

I wanted to close my eyes but somehow I could not.  I was forced to watch this horrible carnage.  I saw an entire organ ripped out of Frank and flung yards away.  Then the enraged beast plunged his head into Frank's body, ripping apart flesh and body parts with his teeth.  He raised his head again and I saw his mouth, completely covered in Frank's blood.  Inside was a large chunk of flesh.  He chewed the flesh quickly, and swallowed.  Then he bent down again, ripping apart more of the now dead Frank.  My friend was a bloody mess from the Wolf's rage.  I fought the trance and jerked my head away from the unpleasant image.

Although I did not see it anymore, I could still hear it.  As I heard the Wolf chew at his prey and growl, I wanted to scream.  I was listening to my friend being eaten.  I tried covering my ears, but I still heard it.  _Cruch, crack, gulp.  It was all I could hear.  It was horrible!  _

I looked behind me to see where Timmy and Arnie were.  They were hiding behind a tree.  They were still watching what was being done to Frank.  I could see tears streaming down Timmy's face.  I glanced back at the Wolf to make sure it was okay to move without being seen.  Then I stood up, ran over to Timmy and Arnie and dived behind the same tree.

"Let's get out of here," I said, feeling tears form in my eyes.  "We have to go.  There's nothing we can do."

Once we were all standing, we knew what we had to do.  Run!  We were all moving so fast, I do not think even the Wolf could have caught up with us.  Or maybe that was just the fright talking.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

We ran almost non-stop until we reached the salesman.  When we got to him, we stopped and gasped for air.

"What happened?" asked the salesman.  "Was the Wolf after you?"

We nodded since we could not yet speak.  The salesman looked into the woods to make sure the Wolf was nowhere nearby.  "Where's the fat one?" he asked.

When no one replied, he could figure out the answer.

Finally gaining stability, I stood up straight and walked over to the salesman.  "How could you let us in those woods?  Do you know how big that beast is?  Our friend is dead now."

"It is not my job to keep you from going into the woods," he said.  "I warned you about the Wolf.  The whole village has warned you.  Now you know how dangerous the Wolf can be."

"What are we going to do now?" asked Timmy.  "We can't go back there."

"I'm with Timmy," I said.

"We can't just leave!" shouted Arnie.  "We have to find the Medicine Pig.  We can't just go home.  What would we tell Mother?  If we go back, we are going to just look like cowards and Mother will die thinking that we were too chicken to face the Wolf."

"That's because we are too chicken," I said.  "I'm not going back into those woods.  It's suicide.  One pig has died right in front of our eyes and you still think we have a chance?  You saw how easily the Wolf killed Frank.  It will be exactly the same for us.  There is a reason why every pig who goes into those woods die."

"So you're just going to give up?" said Arnie.  "If we find the Medicine Pig, we can get everything we need and never have to come here again.  Perhaps we can persuade the Medicine Pig to come to the village with us."

"Forget it!" I shouted.  "The Medicine Pig is probably dead just like Frank.  Nothing can escape the Wolf.  We all have seen just how powerful he can be.  We are nothing but three little pigs who can't do anything except run.  I want to save Mother as much as you do, but there's nothing we can do."

"Listen to Charlie," said Timmy.  "We can't go back.  You will die, I will die, and Charlie will die.  The Wolf will kill us all."

Arnie looked at the ground.  He did not want to leave.  He wanted to find the Medicine Pig.  "Okay," he said.  "I give up.  If you want to go back home, then I'll go."

Finally Arnie was talking sense.  We could not even last an hour without someone getting killed.  We could not risk it.

"Now that we've come to an agreement," I said, "we can go home and stay with our mother.  I think it's important that we spend time with her since we are unable to cure her."

I began walking toward the village.  We would go home, explain to Mother why he had to come back, and stay with her as we could to show her that we cared.  I wished we did not have to go back home, but it was impossible to make it all the way to the Medicine Pig and back.  Instead of getting us all killed, it was better to stay at home and be with the one we loved.

But that plan fell apart.  "Arnie!" I heard Timmy yell behind me.  I spun around to see Arnie had fled into the woods.  He was running extremely fast with no intent of returning.

"Arnie!" I shouted.  "Where are you going?"

"To the Medicine Pig!" he replied and continued running.

What were we going to do now?  Arnie ran off into the dangerous woods with the evil Wolf.  If we tried to retrieve him, we could be killed.  Why did Arnie have to do this?

"Should we go after him?" Timmy asked.

"No," I said.  "We'll find him later.  I don't think we'll catch up right now.  It looks like this will be a very long day.  We might have to build a safe house after all."

"Are we trying to get to the Medicine Pig too?"

"I don't know.  We'll just have to see what happens.  But for now, I think we should get all the supplies we are going to need."

"Yeah," said Timmy.  "We can get the straw we need so that we don't have to come back until we get Arnie."

"We are not getting straw!" I shouted.  "We are getting bricks.  Bricks are much stronger than straw and can withstand a lot more damage."

Timmy rose up on his hind legs.  "No, forget it.   I'm not listening to you anymore.  You are the one who invited Frank and now he's dead!  I will do fine without your brick house.  You will probably be the next one to die.  I'm fast and you're slow just like Frank was.  I can escape from the wolf.  If my house gets penetrated, I can still run away.  If your house gets penetrated, you wouldn't have a chance."

"Penetrated?  That's a pretty big word for you."  I rose up on my hind legs to match his height.

"You're not all that smart," Timmy said.  "You just read a bunch of stupid books to fill your head with useless information."

"Information?" I mocked.  "That's another big word for you, Timmy.  Are you trying to sound smarter than you are?"

"That's it!" Timmy screamed.  He drew back his arm and threw a quick punch.  I moved to the right, barely missing it.

"You missed," I said.  A second later, his other arm rose up and contacted me in the snout.  I fell backwards and landed hard.  But the pain disappeared once I blacked out.

            When I woke up, the salesman was standing over me.  He held out his arm to help me.  I grabbed it and he helped me to my feet.

            "That was a pretty hard hit you took," said salesman.  "Does your brother always beat you in fights?"

            "No," I said.  "We don't usually fight.  He's just jealous that I'm smart and he's not.  I don't know what's wrong with him."  I looked around for Timmy.  I didn't see him.

            "He's not here," said the salesman.  "He left over an hour ago.  He took a wagon full of straw and a wagon full of sticks."

            "You mean he's out there right now without any protection but some straw and some sticks?"

            "Yes," he said.  "I don't think he's coming back for you either.  You made him awfully mad.  It's not a good thing that you three are split up.  That makes it harder for each of you.  When you are united, you are stronger.  If you split up, It will be one versus one instead of three versus one.  And the Wolf is far too enormous."

            "You're right," I said.  "I have to get us back together.  The only problem is that I have to find them by myself.  I might get killed before I even get to them."

            "You'll be fine," said the salesman.

            "You think so?" I asked.

            "Not really," he said.  "You will probably die like everyone else.  But maybe you'll get lucky."

            "Thanks," I said.  "I'm really confident now.  Just give me the bricks need and I'll be on my way."

            "Okay."  The salesman stocked a wagon full of bricks and I paid the money.  I grabbed my ax and the wagon and began my walk back into the woods.

            All I could think about was how the wolf so easily mutilated my friend Frank.  One minute he was a talking, walking, and breathing pig like me.  The next minute he was being ripped apart and eaten.  The image of the Wolf chewing on the remains of my dead friend would not leave me.  This was no ordinary animal we were dealing with. This was some kind of evil beast from Hell.  Could three little, weak pigs really destroy something like this?  We weren't strong, tough lions or large menacing elephants.  We weren't nearly as clever and sly like the fox or the human.  We were just pigs.  There were three of us, but does that make any difference?  There were four of us before Frank got killed.  What happened?  Frank died from the Wolf's rage and we didn't put a scratch on him. If we were going to defeat the wolf we would need a strategy and a lot of teamwork.  We would not be able to survive as just three running, frightened pigs.

            I walked for about twenty minutes, not seeing Timmy or Arnie.  "Timmy!" I called.  "Arnie!  Where are you?"  There was no answer.

            Being in the woods by myself was horrible.  I could not help but to think the Wolf was going to pounce on me from behind the bushes and kill me like he did Frank.  I had to find my brothers before nightfall.  I could not last by myself.

            _Tap, tap, tap.  Something was moving behind me.  I spun around, my heart rate climbing instantly.  I did not see anything.  __Tap, tap, tap.  The sound was behind me again.  I spun around to my original direction and looked out.  Once again, I saw nothing except trees and bushes.  What was making that noise?_

            I grabbed my ax and held it with both hands.  I stood completely still, looking for the slightest movement.  A minute passed and I still saw nothing.  I decided to move on but remain extremely alert.

            "Hey," I heard someone whisper.  I franticly searched for where the voice was coming from.

            "Hey," the voice repeated.  "Over here."

            The voice was coming from below me.  I looked down to see a squirrel looking up at me.

            "Was that you talking?" I asked the squirrel.  "You scared me out of my skin.  I thought you were the Wolf.

            "Do I look like the Wolf to you?" the squirrel said.  "You're the first one to mistake me for that huge creature.  No, I'm just a squirrel named Sam.  What is your name?"

            "I'm Charlie," I answered.

            "I think I can help you," said Sam.  "You're here to find the Medicine Pig, right?"

            "Yes," I said.  "Do you know something about him?"

            "I sure do," Sam said.  "I know exactly where he is.  I can take you to him if you like."

            "So the Medicine Pig is real?  He exists and is still alive?"

            "He's as real and alive as you and me," said Sam.  "I'm actually a good friend of the Medicine Pig.  I will take you to him soon, but I have to ask you something.  Are you with anyone?"

            "My brothers are out here somewhere," I said.  "I don't know where, though.  I've been searching for them for the past half-hour."

            "I think I know where one of them is," said Sam.  "I saw him building a house made out of straw."

            "That's Timmy!" I exclaimed.  "You found him?"

            "Yes.  He looked very scared. That's very common among the pigs that come through here.  Sadly, none of the pigs have ever escaped.  I've seen over ten pigs get slaughtered right in front of my eyes.  I'm here to prevent this from happening to you and your brothers.  I tried helping one other pig before you, but he still got killed.  Hopefully, that won't happen this time."

            "Well, thank you," I said.  "We'll need all the help we can get."

            "Your brother is not too bright, is he?" asked Sam.  "Why would he build a house out of straw?  Doesn't he know the Wolf will knock it down like it's just a toy?  That's no protection from that beast."

            "He's a stubborn idiot," I said.  "I told him that he should build the house with bricks but he didn't listen."

"We have to get to him before the Wolf finds him," said Sam.  "What happened to your other brother?"

"I don't know where he is," I admitted.

"We'll have to find him later," said Sam.  "First we'll get your brother Timmy, and go from there."

            "Hey, how are you able to escape the wolf?" I asked.  "Why haven't you been eaten?"

            "He doesn't eat small animals like us squirrels," answered Sam.  "He wants big and juicy animals."

            "Like pigs?"

            "Exactly," he said.  "Every time a pig comes through here on a search for the Medicine Pig, he attacks and kills the pig.  Sometimes he takes the pig back to his house before eating it."

            "His house?" I said.  "The Wolf has his own house?  I thought he was just some wild beast."

            "He is a wild beast!" said Sam.  "He is a wild beast that sleeps at his house whenever he's not hunting pigs or other big animals."

            "Maybe we can find the Medicine Pig when the Wolf is sleep," I said.  "He won't know what is going on.  He will be too busy dreaming about the animals he will chase when he wakes up.  He can't kill us while he is sleeping."

            "It won't work, Charlie," said Sam.  "The Wolf has an outstanding sense of smell.  He will detect you if you are anywhere near his house.  Also, we have no way of knowing if he is asleep or not.  He may be doing something else.  I've seen him go into his house with a pig and come out five minutes later."

            I wondered what was in the Wolf's house.  What could he be keeping in there?  Was his house a normal one with furniture, a fireplace, bedrooms, and a kitchen?  Or was his house a giant slaughterhouse filled with all the leftovers of his prey?  Would he torture some of his victims before eating them?  Did the Wolf have a family?  Was there more than one Wolf?  Would we have to face multiple wolves?  I tried to shake some of these questions out of my head to come back to my senses.

            "Have you been inside the Wolf's house?" I asked.

            "No," Sam responded.  "I'm too afraid to go inside.  I'm afraid of what I might see.  It could be something so terrible that it haunts me forever.  I've seen enough from what goes on when he's outside.  I don't need to see what goes on in his house."

            "I feel the same way you do," I said.  "I'd be just as frightened to go into the Wolf's house.  Hopefully, we won't have to."

            "Speak for yourself," said Sam.  "Let's get going.  I'm sure you want to get to your brother before it's too late.  He doesn't stand much of a chance with a straw house as his only protection.  Does he have a weapon with him?  I see you have your ax."

            "No, he doesn't," I said.  "Only me and my brother Arnie have weapons.  He has a baseball bat.  He also has the other flashlight."

            "Too bad," said Sam.

I followed the squirrel through the dangerous woods.  Hopefully Sam knew what he was talking about and we would find everyone and find the Medicine Pig too.  But I had a feeling that everything would not go according to plan.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

            "There it is," said Sam.  "There's the straw house where I saw your brother."

            The house was really made of straw with some sticks here and there.  What was Timmy thinking?

            We walked to the door and I tried to open it.  It was locked.  At least Timmy had enough sense to lock the door.  I knocked on the door a few times.

            "Who is it?" asked Timmy from inside.

            "It's me, Charlie," I said.  "Open up."

            Timmy swung open the door.  "Charlie!  I'm so glad you are here.  I've been terrified of every sound I hear.  But now you are here, which makes me feel a lot better.  Come on in."

            I walked in pushing my wagon full of bricks, followed by Sam.

            "Who's the squirrel?" asked Timmy.  "What is he doing here?"

            "His name is Sam and he's going to help us," I told Timmy.

            "Help us?" said Timmy.  "That little animal couldn't help us if he was twice as big.  I don't think that squirrel could cause any damage on the Wolf."

            "I'm not here to help kill the Wolf," said Sam.  "I'm here to help take you to the Medicine Pig.  I know where he is."

            "Really?" questioned Timmy.  "You know where the Medicine Pig is?"

            "Yes, I know where he is," Sam repeated.  "But if you don't think that is relevant, I'll leave now."

            "No, I'm sorry," Timmy apologized.  "That's the reason we are out here.  So I guess if you know where he is, then I'll follow your lead."

            I noticed that it did feel homey in Timmy's house.  But of course the point was not to make the house comfortable.  It was to make the house safe; and this was definitely not a safe house.

            "Timmy," I called.  "Why would you go off by yourself with no weapons, no food, and lousy equipment?  You didn't even use most of the sticks you brought with you."  I looked at the pile of sticks in one of the wagons.

            "I guess I was scared," said Timmy.  "I figured I could do everything on my own.  I lasted this far didn't I?"

            "Yes, you lasted this far," I said, "but you still have not made it to the Medicine Pig.  That means you are still vulnerable and the quest is still not over."

            "I could have made it by myself," he said.

            "No you couldn't," I said.  "You don't even have a flashlight.  What if the Wolf came in the middle of the night?  You couldn't run or fight because you wouldn't be able to see him.  But the Wolf could still track you with his sharp sense of smell.  You would just be another meal."

            "I just didn't think it all the way through," said Timmy.

            "You never think," I scolded.  "You have to think before you do.  You always do something stupid and then come back later to say that you're sorry.  But this time, you wouldn't be able to say you were wrong because you'd be dead.  You would be another victim of the big, bad Wolf."

            "Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?" said Timmy.  "I'm not dead.  That's what is important."

            "Yeah, you are still alive," I said.  "But we still don't know about Arnie."

            "Where is Arnie?  I haven't found him yet.  I don't know what happened to him.  Do you think he's okay?"

            "I'm sure he is," I said.  "We found you alive, so I think we'll be able to find him alive too."

_            Scrish, scrish._

            "Yeah, everything will be...what's that noise?"

            _Scrish, scrish._

_            "Yeah, I hear it too," said Sam.  "It's coming from outside."_

            _Scrish, scrish._

            "Someone is coming," I said.  I grabbed my ax and held with both hands.  We all stared at the front door expecting anything.

            "Do you think it's Arnie?" asked Timmy.  "Do you think he's found us?"

            "I don't know," I admitted.  "I can't tell."

            The noise stopped all was silent.

            It wasn't long before the silence was broken.  _Bang, bang!  Someone was banging on the door with incredible force.  Hay was falling off the door with each bang._

            "Arnie, is that you?!" called Timmy.

            _Bang, bang, bang!  The noise continued._

            "I don't think that's Arnie," I said.  "Arnie never knocks that hard.  I don't think it's him."

            _Bang, bang, bang!  The noise was making me nervous.  My heart was beating incredibly fast.  I wanted it to stop._

            _Bang, bang!  Then noise finally stopped but it wasn't the end of our panic._

            From the other side of the door came a booming voice that would chill up even the mighty lion's spine.  "Open the door, little pigs!  I know you're in there!"

            The house shook a little.  I could feel the vibrations caused by the thunderous voice.  It could only be the voice of the Wolf.  I tried to speak but it came out shaky.  "G-g-go away!" I yelled.  "Leave us alone!"

I knew the Wolf wouldn't listen to what his prey had to say, but it was worth a try.  We were no match for the Wolf.  We were in a house that could be brought down with one mighty blow from the beast.

"I smelled you pigs from a mile away," said the Wolf.  "I've come for the younger one."

"What are we going to do?" asked Timmy.  "Do you think we can protect ourselves?"

"Not really," I said.  "But we must do something."

"It's okay little pigs," the Wolf said.  "I won't eat you.  I only want to talk to you."

"Do you hear that, Charlie?" said Timmy.  "He said he won't eat us."

I wanted to smack Timmy for making such a stupid comment.  "Timmy, it's a trick.  He wants us to believe it's safe."

"Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in," said the Wolf.  I could hear the impatience grow in his voice.  It was only a matter of time before he would lose his temper.

"No, no way," said Timmy.  "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I won't let you in."

Of course this teasing angered the Wolf greatly.  Of course he did not want to be told what he could and could not do.  "Oh, really?" said the Wolf.  "Then I guess I will have to force my way in."

"I don't like this," said Sam.  "I've seen this happen before.  This house is going down!"

"You obviously will not cooperate and now this has made me angry," said the Wolf.  "You say you won't let me in?  Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your puny straw house in!"

I heard the wolf take in a very deep breath.  He was going to blow the house in!

"Is huff a real word?" asked Timmy.

"I don't know," I answered.  "But it's no time for..."

The house began to shake violently.  The sound of extreme wind caused all of us to freeze from fright.  Straw started falling from the walls and the ceiling.  The house was quickly deteriorating.  Soon, the entire front wall caved in, flying directly at us.  The straw slammed into us and we fell down, soon to be covered from straw from the ceiling and the other walls.

After about ten more seconds, the wind finally settled.  The Wolf had completely destroyed the house and we were on the ground, trapped in straw and helpless.  I struggled to get all the straw off of me.  I could not see what was happening.  Was everybody okay?

After much tearing and squirming, I saw light again.  I jumped to my feet and checked to see where the Wolf was.  The Wolf was regaining his breath.  Maybe this would give us enough time to get out of there.  But where was Timmy?  Where was Sam?

"We have to get out of here," said Sam who was safe and sound.  "You must help your brother."

"Where is he?" I asked.  "I don't see him."  I searched for his body among the straw.

"He's behind you," said Sam.  "He's under that straw."

I spun around to see Timmy's round, pink belly sticking out through the straw.  I pushed the debris off of him.  I gave him a slap and he woke up.  "What's going on?" he asked.

"We have to go," I said.  I held out my hand to help him up.  We glanced at the Wolf, who now had fully recuperated from his immense breath attack.

"Run!" yelled Sam.  "He's going to kill you!"

So I ran.  I ran and ran, not looking back.  But I stopped when I had the strong feeling that something important was left behind.  I looked down at Sam who had a puzzled look on his face.

"What is it?" Sam asked.  He looked behind him and he figured out what happened.

"Timmy!" I screamed, rushing at him.  "Run, Timmy, run!"

Timmy was still at the house, not having moved an inch since I got him up.  He was going to be killed!  The Wolf was moving in on him.  I continued to run.

Timmy turned his head to me.  He saw me and then looked back at the Wolf.  He must have been terrified.  He was so scared from the Wolf that he froze and couldn't move.

I came up on the Wolf and rose my ax, preparing to strike.  I figured I could injure the Wolf and then rescue Timmy.  I stopped in front of the Wolf and slammed the ax at him.  It barely cut his left arm.  The Wolf hollered, while I drew back the ax a second time.  Before I could hit him, the Wolf swung his massive arm wildly and it collided intensely with my body.  The hit caused me to soar about fifteen feet, landing next to Sam who was running toward the action.

"Are you okay?" asked Sam.

I did not answer.  I was in pain and was feeling quite dizzy.  The earth looked like was split into three parts, all rotating as if they were being juggled.  I closed my eyes and reopened them, trying to become gain consciousness again.  I saw the Wolf slowly closing in on Timmy.

"I've got you now," said the Wolf.  "You are mine.  You will be my lunch."

Sam shook in fear, still too scared to run away.  He stared up at the Wolf who was about five times his size.  I noticed the Wolf's large yellow eyes.  The glow from them seemed to have a certain power behind them.  Maybe it was my dizziness.  Maybe it was truly evil power.

"You are going to die like the rest of the pigs I have killed," said the Wolf.  "You are just another scared little pig that can't do anything.  I have the power here.  I win every time.  There's nothing you pigs can do to stop me.  I am the ultimate predator.  I own these woods.  You will never learn."

"Run!!!" I yelled at Timmy.  "Get away!"

I finally was able to get Timmy to come out of his frozen state.  He realized that he needed to run.  He spun around and ran away from the wolf, zooming passed me.  He seemed to be running really fast for a pig.  Timmy always could run fast.  But was he fast enough for the Wolf?  Sam and I watched as the Wolf raced after my brother.

The Wolf was close behind him, only a pounce away!  Timmy was not going to escape.  The Wolf was going to kill him.

            "No!" Timmy screamed.  "Nooo!!!!"

The Wolf dived on Timmy and began to slash at him with his immense claws.  I saw Timmy's blood fly through the air with every slice.

I stood up and ran to help Timmy.  I had to save him!  Maybe it was not too late.  I still had the ax.  I still could do something to help him.  I lifted the ax in the air as I ran.

"Aaaah!" I yelled, swinging the ax fiercely at the Wolf.  The Wolf noticed the ax before it could hit him and grabbed the weapon.  He yanked it from me and stood up on his hind legs.

"You fool!" the Wolf roared.  "You can't kill me.  I'm the Wolf!"  He threw the ax on the ground.  He opened his mouth wide, saliva dripping from it.  Some of the saliva oozed out and landed on my face.  His eyes grew bright like stars.  I could see only evil in them, the past and future acts of horrible killing.  

He grabbed me by the waist.  His hands easily wrapped around me, lifting me into the air.  I twisted and turned to try to escape, but the Wolf's grip was far too strong.  I pounded on his arm but it had no affect.

"I will kill you later," said the Wolf.  He let go of me and I fell a few feet to the ground.

The Wolf turned back to his original prey.  Timmy was still alive but very hurt.  He looked like he lost a lot of blood and would need some prompt treatment.  I wished I could help him, but I could not.  The Wolf would not let me near him.  I had to back off.  The best thing to do at this time was protect myself.  I crawled backwards to get away from the feral beast.

The Wolf swooped down and put his jaws around Timmy's head.

"Noooo!!!" Timmy yelled.  "No.  Help me!!"

            The Wolf started twisting and turning, Timmy's head still in his jaws.  The Wolf growled as he yanked at Timmy's head.  The creature's teeth were clawing into Timmy's neck, creating a pool of blood on the body.  I watched in horror as the Wolf gave one final, fierce tug.  Timmy's head was lifted violently and ripped from his body!  Pieces of flesh dangled from the severed head.  Blood dripped from it onto the body.

The Wolf held the head in his mouth and turned toward me.  The eyes on the bodiless head were still open.  Timmy's face had a look of great fear.  I knew it would haunt me forever.  Then the Wolf bit down.  The head was being crushed in the Wolf's enormous mouth.  Timmy's eyes became bulgy from the pressure and subsequently popped out of their sockets. 

The Wolf chewed slowly.  The sound was sickening.  Once again, I could not handle the terrible noise and tried covering my ears.  The image of Timmy's horrified face would not cease harassing me either.  Timmy's head was ripped off repetitively in my mind.  _Crunch, crunch.  It was more than enough to make someone sick.  And that is what happened.  The slaughter of my brother was making me ill.  I held my belly, which felt quite uneasy.  I was growing dizzy.  There were three Wolves, each eating my brother's head, moving in circles.  My eyes grew heavy and I could not think straight.  My mouth grew very moist.  Then out came the vomit._

I felt less sickly after vomiting, but I still felt dizzy.  I tried to get to my feet, but fell down.  I was forced to stay where I was.  The Wolf was now eating Timmy's body.  I closed my eyes.  This all seemed like a very bad nightmare; unfortunately, it was not.  It was real.  Timmy was beheaded and eaten by the Wolf.  Frank had been viciously ripped apart and eaten also.  There was only me and Arnie left.  My confidence was quickly fading.  I was turning into just another scared little pig.  If Arnie was still alive, I he would probably be just as scared as I was.  We needed a miracle to make it through.  But as scared as I was, I could not turn back now.  Already, two pigs were dead.  Then there was the hundreds before us who were killed.  Someone had to stop the Wolf.  He was a dangerous evil that had to be gotten rid of.  He needed to be destroyed like he destroyed all the innocent pigs.  Why did he not attack animals his own size?  He could have fought the lion and probably won.  The Wolf was gigantic.  Why was he picking on us little, fat pigs who could not protect themselves?  It was unfair.  I needed justice.  My mom needed justice.  Every pig in Swine Village needed justice.

I opened my eyes to see the Wolf towering over me.  No pig had ever escaped the Wolf.  I was beginning to think this would forever be true.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

Perhaps this was the end of me.  The Wolf had me in his grasp and I was completely defenseless.  I was too exhausted to fight back.  Sam, of course, wouldn't be able to help me.  I was doomed.

The Wolf stared at me for a few seconds.  I braced myself for the painful bite of death.  Then the Wolf said, "You are next, little pig.  I'll eat you later."

In a few seconds, the Wolf ran into the woods and disappeared.  I was somewhat relieved, but still very shaken.  I laid on the ground, exhausted.  I wanted to sleep for a while.

"Charlie!" yelled Sam, running up to me.  "Get up.  Are you okay?"

I sat up.  "I'm fine.  I'm just tired."

"You'll have to sleep later," said Sam.  "We have to build the brick house now.  We can not rest until we are safe.  The Wolf doesn't care if you are sleep."

I did not want to build a safe house.  I did not want to do anything but sleep.  I was exhausted.  Battling the Wolf can definitely make a pig tired.  I needed a break.  Two pigs that I cared about died horrible deaths right in front of me.  I was no longer thinking straight.  I needed time to recuperate.

"I'm sure you need your sleep," said Sam.  "So the sooner we build a safe house, the sooner you can sleep.  When you wake up, you should be fresh and well again.  So let's build it."

"Fine," I said.  "Let's get this over with."

We went back to Timmy's destroyed house to retrieve everything that we left there.  We decided to find a new spot to build the house.  I didn't want to build it so close to Timmy's lifeless body.

As we walked passed the body, I had to turn my head away.  I could not bear to look at my brother's body in such a horrible condition.  I didn't want to just leave it lying there, but I was too scared.  We did not even have time to bury him.  We had to take care the ones who were still alive.  We had to stay on task.  If we did not, death could result.

After a little while of walking, we found a spot good for building the house.  We started the building process.  We quickly formed the several layers bricks, filling them in with dirt and sand.

Although the process only took an hour or two to complete, it seemed like a lot

more.  The loss of my brother Timmy was very damaging to my mental stability.  I needed rest.  Every brick I picked up was another punch to my rationality.  I was growing dizzy.  I could barely concentrate on the brick wall I was building.  Luckily, the squirrel had his own ideas on how it should be built.  If it were not for him coaching me through it and his work filling in the bricks, I would not have been able to last.

            "We're done!" said Sam.  "Okay, Charlie.  You can sleep now.  If I see or hear the Wolf coming, I'll wake you."

            He told me I could sleep.  That was all I needed to hear.  I closed the door to my newly built house and collapsed to the floor.  I would have liked it better if the floor was made of straw instead of the hard ground, but it did not bother me all that much.  I fell asleep in only few seconds.

I went to sleep expecting to be fully restored when I awoke.  Physically, it did the job.  Mentally, it was a different story.  It was not long before the peaceful nap turned into a horrible nightmare.

            "_Charlie," a voice whispered from somewhere in the room.  I sat up in the dark room.  Almost no light was shining through the few cracks in the bricks._

            "Sam?" I called.  "Where are you?"

            I did not hear any response.  I inched my way through the room, searching for the squirrel.  Sam was not there.

            "_Charlie."  The whisper was louder.  Someone was in the room with me.  Who was it?  Where were they?_

            "Who are you?!" I demanded.  "What do you want?  Is that you, Wolf?"

            "_Charlie, it's me."_

            "What is your name?" I asked the voice.  "I can't see you."

            "_It's me, Timmy."_

            A sharp and hasty shiver shot through my body.  Someone must have been trying to scare me.  This had to be some kind of sick joke.  It could not be Timmy.

            "You are not Timmy," I said.  "I don't know who you are, but you are definitely not Timmy."

            "_But it is me, Charlie," said the voice.  "__It's your little brother, Timmy.  Don't you recognize my voice?"_

            The voice did sound a little like Timmy's.  But the sound was kind of shaky and distorted.  It was not enough to make me believe it was him.

            "You are not Timmy!" I cried.  "Timmy's dead."

            "_But I am not dead," the voice said.  "__I am alive."_

            "If you are alive, then show yourself," I said.

            I nervously searched the dark for any movement, frightened of what I might see.  I did not know what to expect.  The entire day was so crazy already.

            Then I saw a hoof appear from the dark.  It was a pig!  Was it Timmy?  No.  There was no way.  It just was not possible.  But then the next step from the mysterious figure revealed the horrifying truth.  The dim light hit the figure and I could not believe what I saw.  It was Timmy, my little brother.  He was standing in front of me, unscathed and in one piece.  It was like he was never attacked.  But how?

            "Timmy?" I called.  "Is that really you?"

            "Yes, it is," he said, sounding much more like himself.  "It is me.  What is the matter, Charlie?  You look scared?  Aren't you pleased to see me?"

            "But your are dead," I said.  "I saw the Wolf kill you."

            "What are you talking about?" said Timmy.  "Do I look dead to you?  I have not seen the Wolf since he attacked Frank."

            "But I saw it!" I said.  "The Wolf ripped your head off!  He ate you alive!!!"

            "If he ate me, then I would be dead," said Timmy.  "I'm as real as you are.  I can prove it to you."  He stepped toward me, his arm extended to touch me.  I jumped back, not allowing him to lay a finger on me.

            "Get away from me!" I yelled.  "You can't be Timmy.  Timmy is dead like all the other victims of the Wolf.  I saw him die with my own eyes!"

            "But you are wrong," he said.  "Do you not believe what you are seeing now?  Do you not believe that I am your brother?  How can you pretend not to know me?  Don't let some dream you had come between us.  I need your help, Charlie.  I can't make it alone.  I'm sorry I hit you.  I'm sorry I went off and made a straw house when I should have stayed with you like Mother told us to.  I'm really sorry, Charlie.  You forgive, don't you?"

            His voice sounded so much like Timmy.  I wanted to forgive him and go find Arnie, but I knew that could not happen.  What I had seen was real.  The Timmy that I have known for all of my life and loved was dead.  This Timmy that I was speaking to now was not him.

            "No," I said.  "I am not going to listen to this anymore.  Timmy is dead and you are just a hallucination of some kind.  I'm going to find Sam and then find Arnie."

            "Who is Sam?" the pig asked.  "Do I know a Sam?"

            I turned around and rushed out of the house.  It was growing dark.  It would not be long before it was entirely black.  I realized that I had left my flashlight in the house; I was not going back in there.

            "Sam!" I yelled.  "Where are you, Sam?!  We have to go!"

            Sam did not respond.  I looked behind me to see the ghost Timmy coming out of the house.  He was walking toward me.

            "What's wrong, Charlie?" the pig asked.  "Why are you scared of your own brother?  I'm the same Timmy you've always known.  Don't go, Charlie.  Stay with me."

            I started running again.  I stopped when I saw another pig, coming out from behind a tree and into the open.  Was it Timmy again?  Did he somehow teleport himself like some kind of magician?  No.  It could not have been Timmy.  The pig was too large to be Timmy.  Was it...no, it could not be.  Frank was dead.  As the pig neared me, I saw who it was.  Another dead pig was alive.  Frank was back again, healthy and whole.

            The dead Frank did have a scratch on his face, though.  It was not very deep.  But where were all his other scratches?  Where were the slashes across his body?  Why was his belly still in tact, all the organs still inside?  He was eaten, not just attacked!  He should be completely disfigured.  He should be dead!

            "Hello, Charlie," said Frank.  "Where have you been?  I've been looking all over for you."

            "You are dead," I said.  "You were killed and eaten by the Wolf.  Why aren't you dead?"

            "Dead?" asked Frank.  "Why would I be dead, Charlie?  Don't you remember?  You saved me.  You hit the wolf with the ax and he ran away."

            "Then where were you since then?" I asked.

            "Do you not remember anything?" said Frank.  "You sent me to go see...hey, look who's here!"  He stretched out his arm, pointing.

            I followed his finger to see another pig.  Who was it this time?  Was it Arnie?  And if it was Arnie, was it the real Arnie or a ghost Arnie?  The pig walked closer to us.

            It was not Arnie.  It was another pig that I had never met.  Perhaps it was someone else looking for the Medicine Pig.

            "Hey!" I called.  "Who are you?"

            The pig did not say anything.  The pig just stared and stood eerily still.  I called after the pig again, but he still did not answer.

            The pig did not say anything.  The pig just stared and stood eerily still.  I called after the pig again, but he still did not answer.

            Something strange was going on.  I could not figure out what was happening, but a logical explanation did not seem possible.  Either these pigs were ghosts or they were somehow alive.  But I did not know who the third pig was.  Was he a victim of the Wolf also?  If so, does that mean all the Wolf's past victims would raise from the dead?  Something just seemed unreal.

            That was not the last pig I saw.  Soon, a two more pigs showed up and stood next to the other one. The dead Frank and Timmy joined them.  Seconds later, more pigs came.  They were coming out of nowhere!  Pigs, pigs, and more pigs!  In a short time there were hundred of pigs, structuring themselves to trap me in a circle.

            "That is not good," I said, looking at all the faces.  I recognized a few of them.  They were the pigs who died during their search for the Medicine Pig.  Why were they up and walking around?  Some of them had been dead for years.

            "Charlie!!" boomed a loud voice.  "Hello, Charlie.  How are you?"

            "Who is that?!" I yelled.  "Show yourself!"

            "Here I am," the voice said.  Someone emerged from the mass of pigs.  It was a pig.  I could tell by his feet.  But I could not see his face because a very detailed mask covered it up.  It was brown, with very large black eyes, a snout and a closed mouth.  He wore a very colorful robe, pictures of different animals stitched into it.  The pig was rather short, about the size of a child pig just starting school.

            "Hello, Charlie," said the pig.

            "Who are you?" I asked.

            "You don't know who I am?"

            "No."

            "Isn't it obvious?" said the pig.  "I can't believe you could not recognize me.  Have you never seen this mask before?"

            "I don't think so," I said.

            "Most pigs know automatically who I am once they see my mask.  Think, Charlie.  Are you sure you don't recognize me?"

            I examined the mask.  It began to trigger something in my memory.  I recalled seeing it somewhere.  Was it a museum?  No.  I was around lots of people I knew.  School.  That's where I saw it.  The teacher was showing it to us in a book.  She was explaining what it was and its history.  What did she say?  Then her exact words began to come to mind.

            "This is called the Mask of Restoration," the teacher said.  "It's been around for centuries, passed along one pig's family line for years.  It holds great power.  Whoever possesses the Mask is able to do fascinating things.  He has the power of telekinesis.  He is completely invincible from harm as long as he's got the mask on.  And best of all he can heal any animal he wants, including us pigs.  This remarkable pig that we haven't seen in over eighty years is called the Medicine Pig..."

            The Medicine Pig!   That's who this mysterious pig was.  He was wearing the Mask of Restoration.  It had to be him.

            "It's you," I said.  "You're the Medicine Pig."

            "Yes, that's me," the Medicine Pig said.  "It's about time you figured it out.  I guess I've just been away too long."

            "Yes, you have," I said.  "The people in Swine Village need you.  Many are sick and need your help.  Will you help them?"

            "Charlie," said the Medicine Pig.  "Look around.  Look at what I can do?"  He pointed at all the pigs who were supposed to be dead.

            "You resurrected them?"

            "No, Charlie," he said.  "I didn't do anything to these pigs.  This is all an illusion, Charlie.  Nothing you are seeing right now is real."

            "What are you talking about?" I asked.  "Aren't you real?'

            "The Medicine Pig is real," he said.  "But this is only a dream.  These pigs are dead.  They were never alive.  It was just to teach you something.  But the Medicine Pig can prevent any other pig from dying.  These pigs could have been saved.  If only someone brave and smart would have searched for him sooner.  You are very brave and very smart, Charlie.  You must find him.  I am only the dream representation of the Medicine Pig.  You must find the real one."

            "What do I do?" I asked.  "The Wolf is still alive.  No one can survive the Wolf."

            "You can," said the pig.

            "What about my brother Arnie?" I asked.  "Will he survive?"

            "It depends on you," he said.  "You are the only one that can save him.  You must find him quickly before it is too late..."

            "Charlie."

            "Yes," I said.

            "Charlie, Charlie!"

            It was not the Medicine Pig calling me.  It was the squirrel.  I was in my house, awakening from my dream.

            "Get up Charlie," said Sam.

            The room was dark except for a small fire in the chimney.  But where did the chimney come from?  We did not build a chimney.  Sam must have built it while I was sleeping.

            "Hey, Sam," I said.  "Nice chimney work there.  But I have to tell you something.  I had the strangest dream.  First this pig..."

            "Shut up, Charlie," Sam interrupted.  "We don't have time for that.  We are in danger.  The Wolf is outside."

            "The Wolf?" I repeated.  I jumped to my feet.

            "Yes.  Be quiet.  You'll be able to hear his footsteps."

            We listened quietly.  The Wolf was coming.  I could hear his feet hit the ground and cause a vibration through the house.

            "Do you think he's going to blow the house down?" I asked.

            "I hope not," said Sam.  "This house is brick.  And we built it well.  He can only blow down brick houses if it is not done well."

            Despite Sam's guarantee, I did not feel safe.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

  
            The Wolf stopped walking.  _Bang!  Bang!  The wolf pounded the door with great intensity._

            "Open the door, little pig!" boomed the Wolf.

            I stayed silent.

            "I know you're in there, pig," the Wolf said.  "I'm the Wolf.  I can smell you before ever getting here."

            "You aren't getting in here!" I shouted.  "You'll never eat me."

            "You foolish pig!  I can do whatever I want.  If I want to get into your house, there's nothing a little pig like you can do about it.  I will get into your house and eat you alive!"

            I shuddered.  I did not want to be another victim of the Wolf.  I had to be brave.

            "You know what I can do," said the Wolf.  "We can save a lot of trouble if you just come out now.  If you don't, I will just have to blow your house down just like I did your brother."

            "Nothing you say will get me to open that door," I said.  "Nothing!"

            "Hey, pig!" the Wolf said.  "If you let me in now, I'll make sure you're dead before I eat you.  So let me come in."

            "Sorry, Wolf.  Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.  I won't let you in."

            "How dare you deny the Wolf?!" he exclaimed.  "You will kill you, pig!  I'm going to huff and puff and blow your puny brick house in!"

            "Go ahead and try!" I yelled.

            I did not know if it was a good thing to support him blowing at my house.  But hopefully Sam was right about the house being sturdy enough to withstand the Wolf.

            The Wolf began his first huff and a puff.  A sound of great wind surrounded the house.  Was our house going to fall?  There was a few seconds of only the sound of wind before stopping.  Sam and I were still okay and the house was still in tact.

            "Ha ha, Wolf!" I teased.  "You can't get in here!"

            "We'll see," he said.  "That was only the beginning."  
            The Wolf huffed and puffed again.  This time the wind sounded a lot stronger, but it was not enough to blow down my house.  He did this routine over and over but was not able to cause damage.  On the twelfth blow, he was able to make one brick fall out of the wall.  But I was not worried.  At this rate, it would take hours to bring the house down.  And by that time, he would be exhausted from blowing.  It looked like Sam was right and we would be okay.

            "It looks like you can't get in here, Wolf!" I said.  "Why don't you just give up and go home?  Loser!"

            "I'm the Wolf!" he said.  "I don't lose.  No pig can escape me.  I'm going to force my way in!"

            A few seconds later..._Slam!  There was an extremely loud bang against the front wall.  __Slam!  It was another._

            "The Wolf is trying to smash through the wall!" I shouted.  "Can he do that?"

            "Sometimes," Sam said.

            Again and again the Wolf slammed against the wall, causing several bricks to fall each time.  Some bricks began to fall from the ceiling.  Sam and I had to dodge them.  The house was beginning to fall apart.

            "We're going to die," I said.  "We can get killed just from falling bricks!"

            Brick after brick fell, creating entire holes in the wall so that we could see outside.  But then the pounding stopped.  I heard the Wolf groaning.

            "I think he's hurt," I said.  "He must be tired of ramming himself against the wall."

            "That's good," said Sam.  "He probably will have to give up now.  He's too big to get through the holes he created."

            "You built a very sturdy house," said the Wolf.  "But there's a flaw in everything.  And that flaw is the chimney."

            I turned to look at the chimney.  The fire was on, but it was not nearly enough to stop the Wolf.

            "Yes, little pig," the Wolf said.  I'm coming down that chimney of yours!'

            I heard the Wolf climb the walls of my house, working his way to the roof.  He walked across the ceiling and toward the chimney.

            "Why did you make a chimney anyway?" I asked Sam.  It was cold last night," he said.  "I needed something to keep me warm."

            What were we going to do?  The Wolf was going to come down the chimney and the fire was not large enough to burn him.  If we were to go outside, he would chase us down.  We were trapped.

            "Hey, Charlie!" said Sam, running toward a pile of sticks.  "We can try to increase the fire!  I still have sticks left!"

            I rushed over to help him throw sticks on the fire.  The flames attacked the sticks and the fire grew.

            "It's dinner time!" said the Wolf through the chimney.

            I heard him crawl into the chimney and start to wiggle his way down.  The fire grew larger and more violent.

            "Oh no!" the Wolf yelled.  "It's hot!"

            I could hear the Wolf struggling to climb back up the chimney.  _Scratch, scratch, swoop.  He could not go back up.  Instead, he fell all the way down, landing in the fire._

            "Aaaarrrrrrgghhh!" roared the Wolf.  He struggled to get himself out of the chimney.

            "We should get out of here," said Sam, leading the way.

            I glanced back to see the Wolf running around the room trying to get the fire off of him.  Then the Wolf stopped running around the house and charged right out the front door!  Sam and I scurried out of the way, the Wolf passing us.  The Wolf continued running, still on fire, until he vanished from sight.

            "Where is he going?" I asked.

            "He's probably going to the lake not far from here," said Sam.  "He's going to survive."

            "So you think he'll be back soon?"

            "Yeah.  He's going to be looking for you."

            We went back ion the house and shut the door behind us.  I picked up the basket of food that Frank had made before we came out to the woods.  There was plenty of goodies inside.  "Do you want a cookie?" I asked Sam.

            "No thanks," he said.  "I ate a sandwich from that basket while you were sleeping.  I'm full for a while."

            "Okay," I said.  I ate all the cookies and then picked up a fruit.  "This is some good food.  But it's better if I eat it on the move.  The Wolf will probably be back any minute.  Let's go."

            Sam and I left the brick house behind and walked on.  Sam held the flashlight and I held the ax and the basket of food.

            "It's really dark out here," I said.

            "Yes, it is," said Sam.

            "I can barely see anything.  How will we be able to find Arnie?  All we have is this flashlight.  And what if the Wolf finds us?  We won't be able to escape; we can't see where he is!"

            "It's okay," he said.  "I've got it all under control.  When did you last see him?"

            "He ran into the woods when Timmy and I was about to give up.  I haven't seen him since."

            "If he just ran into the woods by himself, he probably didn't go that much further.  We should find him shortly."

            How could Sam be so sure?  He did not know where Arnie was.  Did he see him earlier?  Was he just being hopeful like I was?

            "Hey, Sam," I said.  "Did you ever try to stop the Wolf?"

            Sam looked at me puzzled.  "The Wolf versus a squirrel.  The odds aren't too bad.  It's no big deal that he is eighty times bigger than me, a million times stronger, a lot quicker, more violent, and completely evil!"

            "Sorry.  Bad question.  But did anyone you know try and stop the Wolf?  Is there no one brave around here?"

            "Well, there was one animal," said Sam.  "He was a dog.  I think his name was Roger.  He ran away from a house owned by a human family.  The family never came to look for him of course.  No dog is worth coming into these woods.  Anyway, Roger became a hero here when he killed a snake named Brikoff who had gone mad and started murdering all kinds of innocent animals.  And he would kill for no reason.  Brikoff wasn't even eating them.  He would just kill them.  He was killing more than the Wolf was!"

            "Wow," I said.  "So Roger stopped him?

            "Yeah, Roger killed him good," continued Sam.  "He was a very brave and smart dog.  We all welcomed him when he did that.  Then one day, he saw the Wolf kill an innocent deer.  He knew the Wolf was not doing this just to survive.  That beast would eat about three or four times a day.  And every meal was a big meal.  The Wolf simply loved to kill.  His thirst for death was insatiable.  Roger knew the Wolf had to be stopped.  So he fought the Wolf."

            "That dog must be crazy," I said.  "He fought the beast along?"

            "Yes, he fought it alone," said Sam.  "And Roger was not crazy.  He was just brave.  Besides, someone needed to put an end to the Wolf.  And if anyone could do it, Roger was the one.  That dog saved us from Brikoff's rampage.  We figured he might just be able to end the Wolf's rampage also.  So Roger challenged the Wolf to a fight to the death.  Nearly every animal in the woods was there to watch.  It was the most excitement we had since the great fire over forty years ago.  Perhaps the Wolf would be defeated and we would live in peace.  So the animals formed an immense circle around the two fighters.  A bird was the one to signal them to begin.  He flapped his wings three times; on the third flap, Roger and the Wolf would brawl."

            "Did Roger do well?" I asked.

            "Oh, yes.  Roger did very well.  He was a little faster than the Wolf.  He was able to dodge his giant paws.  Roger bit him several times on the leg and the Wolf gave a loud  holler.  And after about fifteen minutes of dodging and striking, Roger rammed the Wolf extremely hard in the leg.  The Wolf fell down on his face.  We thought it was almost over and Roger about to save us again.  Roger climbed onto the Wolf's back.  He threw up his arms in triumph.  The animals were all cheering.  We were thrilled to see someone was beating the Wolf.  I was standing right in front of the Wolf, now on the ground.  He was unconscious and his large eyes were closed.  Even when he was not awake, he was a frightening sight."

            "Well, what happened?" I asked.  "What did Roger do next?"

            "After exciting the crowd for a while, Roger asked for a very large stick that he could thrust into the Wolf.  He was given the stick and he held it high in the air with his two front paws.  He yelled 'This is for all the victims of your evil!' and drew the stick back, ready to shove it through the beast.  But before he did, I noticed that the Wolf's face was moving.  Suddenly, his huge, black eyes opened wide and looked straight at me.  I was incredibly scared.  I was thinking _Kill him, Roger!  Quick before he gets up!  But it was too late.  The Wolf felt Roger on his back and instantly jumped up.  Roger fell to the ground, the stick still in his hand.  The Wolf rose up on his hind legs.  We all looked up at the enraged beast towering over us.  Then the Wolf gave a large roar and slammed his right arm down fiercely, killing Roger instantly.  In only a few short seconds, our hero was dead and our hope was shattered."_

            "Wow, that's sad," I said.  "Still to this day, no animal has escaped the Wolf's fury.  Let's make you and your brother the firsts."

            _Swish, swish.  Something close was moving._

            "What was that?" I asked.

            "Maybe it's just a raccoon," Sam said.  "It's probably nothing."

            "Let's keep moving," I said, leading the way.  "Keep that flashlight steady so we can see."

            _Swish, swish. Then I heard a short howl.  I screamed._

            "Why are you screaming?" asked Sam.  "That was an owl hoot."

            "Right," I said.  "I knew that."

            Then I felt something brush against my arm.  It was furry and moved quickly.  "Aaaah!  What was that?!" I yelled.  "Something just touched me."

            Sam focused his light on the object that was next to me.  All we saw was a bird's feather falling.  "Is that what touched you?" asked Sam.

            "Okay," I said.  "But it could have been something else and much bigger."

            Then I heard a loud growl somewhere behind us.  This time Sam did not have any comment to make.  We both started running and screaming.  There were too many different sounds in the Woods at night. At least in the daytime, you could see whatever creatures made noise.  But at night, the creatures could sneak up right behind you and you would not know until it was too late.

            It seemed like there were creatures everywhere while we ran.  I realized why us pigs are nocturnal.  Sam was unable to keep the flashlight steady as we ran.  Neither of us could see in front of ourselves more than a few inches.

            "I don't hear it anymore!" I yelled, still running.  "I think we can..."

            _BAM!!!  We both crashed into something big and fell to the ground.  The flashlight dropped out of Sam's hand._

            "Ow," we said simutaneously.  "Are you okay, Sam?"

            "I'm fine, Charlie," he responded.  "What happened?  Did we hit a tree?"

            "I don't know," I said.  "Use the flashlight."

            Sam picked up the flashlight.  The light revealed a bunch of sticks woven together to create a house.

            "We hit a house," Sam said.  "Good.  I don't like being out at night.  Let's go in."

            "Wait," I said.  "We can't just go in.  We don't know who lives here."

            "I don't care.  We'll just have to see who it is, won't we?"

            "No," I said.  "What if it's the Wolf's house?"

            "It's not the Wolf's house.  The Wolf's house is bigger and creepier.  I've seen that house and this is definitely not it.  Now, let's go."

            We walked to the front door.

            "Knock on it," said Sam.

            "You knock," I said.

            "My knock won't be loud enough."

            "Fine."  I reached up and gave to knocks.  I had an urge to run away but I did not want to be outside at night either.

            "Who is it?" a voice asked.  It was my brother Arnie's voice!  He was alive!

            "Arnie!" I yelled.  "It's me, Charlie!"

            The door flew open and standing there was my brother, alive and well.  I rushed to him and gave him a big hug.  

            "I'm so happy to see you," I said.

            "Come in," Arnie said.  "I want to keep this door locked at all times."

            "So you managed to stay alive, huh?" I asked.  "I'm proud of you.  You know that the Wolf is after us the most.  Pig is his favorite meal."

            "Yes, I know," he said.  "Now that you mention the Wolf, I have something to tell you."

            "What?" I asked.  "What is it, Arnie?"

            "Timmy's dead.  I saw him not far from a straw house he must have built.  His body was there, but there was no head."

            "I know," I said.  "I was there when it happened."

            "Oh my."

            "Yes," I said.  "It was horrible.  I couldn't believe it.  The Wolf just ripped off his head and ate it right in front of me.  Timmy, he's dead."

            "I could hardly believe it at first either," said Arnie.  But I knew it was him.  That was his body I saw.  I had to accept the harsh reality."

            "But you are still alive," I said.  "That's important.  I am still alive, too.  Two pigs have died today.  Let's not make it two more."

            "You're right," Arnie said.  He looked down and saw Sam.  "Who's that?"

            "That's Sam," I told him.  "He's a squirrel.  He's going to help us find the Medicine Pig."

            "He knows where the Medicine Pig is?"

            "Yes, I do," answered Sam.  "I can lead you to him.  It is very dark, but I see you have a flashlight.  That will help me find it."

            Arnie's flashlight hung from the ceiling, creating a circle of light in the middle of the Room.

            "Great," said Arnie.  "Maybe we aren't completely doomed after all.  We have someone that can lead us to the Medicine Pig.  But there's still one little problem."

            "What's that?" I asked.

            "The Wolf is still alive."


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

            Finally, I was reunited with my brother Arnie.  Sam was our guide to the Medicine Pig.  Light was beginning to shine on our mission.

            "I almost did not make it this far," said Arnie.  "It's almost impossible to escape the Wolf."

            "You haven't escaped the Wolf yet," I said.  "We are still in his territory.  We are still vulnerable."

            "That's true," he said.  "I barely got to this point.  He was chasing me and I fell down.  But I managed to get one good swing with the baseball bat, hitting him in the eye.  That was enough to get away."

            "Yeah, well me and Sam had our own share of adventure," I said.  "The Wolf came to my safe house."

            "He did?" asked Arnie.  "What happened?"

            "Well, first he tried blowing it down," I told him.  "That is how he got Timmy's house to fall down.  He has a mighty blow.  Timmy's house fell very easily.  But I built my house with bricks.  The Wolf wasn't able to do anything to my house.  Then he started ramming himself into it.  He was slowly weakening the house, but I guess he wanted to try something else.  So the Wolf came through a fireplace we built, but we burned him.  He's probably still alive, though.

            "Do you think he could blow down my house?" asked Arnie.

            "I don't know," I said.

            "Most stick houses fall," said Sam.  "But some manage to stay up.  "I'm not sure with this one."

            "I think we should leave now," I said.

            "Wait," said Arnie.  "Isn't it better to stay here overnight?  We'll be able to see better and travel better in the daytime."

            "That is true," said Sam.  "But the more time we wait, the more time the Wolf will have to find us.  And your house may not be able to withstand his power.  We must leave before the Wolf discovers where we are."

            _Bang, bang, bang! Went a powerful knock on the door._

            "Too late," I said.  "I think he's already found us."

            _Bang, bang!_

            "Is that the Wolf?" asked Arnie.

            "Of course it is," I said.  "And I'm sure he's angry.  Grab your bat, Arnie.  We may have to fight."

            I clenched my ax and Arnie grabbed his baseball bat.  Sam held a flashlight.

            _Bang, bang!  Dust was falling off the door with each hit.  My heart started beating faster.  Arnie and I on the opposite wall of the door just in case the Wolf decided to ram himself inside.  We waited for the Wolf to act._

            _Bang!_

            "OPEN THE DOOR!!!" roared the Wolf.  "I have no time for foolishness."

            "You'll have to knock it down, Wolf!" I yelled.  "And if you get in, you will have to deal with two furious pigs!"

            "Do you know who you are talking to?!" said the Wolf.  "I will crush you!  You don't have a chance against me.  You are a fool to challenge me!"

            "Then fools we will be," Arnie said.

            "It will only take three seconds to knock down this house and kill you both," the Wolf said.  "If you open the door now, I will let one of you live.  If not, I will kill you both by ripping you apart with my teeth.  Now, let me in!!"

            "Sorry, Wolf," Arnie said.  "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.  I won't let you in."

            The Wolf gave a terrifying roar.  "You've razed the little patience I had left, little pigs.  If you won't open this door, then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your stick house in!"

            "Do it then!" I told him.'

            Seconds later the powerful blow came.  Sticks began to fly in all directions, hitting and scratching us.  The wind stopped.  The house was in a very weak condition.  There were many hours in the walls and ceiling.  Then the wind started again.  The sticks fell on us, burying us.  The house was destroyed.

            I struggled and struggled to get out of the sticks, but could not do it.  It was as if I was pinned down somehow.

            "Aaaaaaahhhh!" Arnie screamed from somewhere above the sticks.  What was happening?  Was the Wolf attacking Arnie?  I had to get out of the sticks.  I pushed with all my strength, slowly emerging from the abundance of sticks.

            I saw that Arnie was still alive.  He was throwing sticks at the Wolf.  The Wolf growled, attempting to dodge the sticks.  Arnie was keeping the Wolf at a distance.  The Wolf tried moving closer, but he would just get hit more and more.  Some sticks would pierce his skin and stay in.  The Wolf would pull them out

            The Wolf oddly did not have any evidence of being burned.  Did he reach the pond that quickly?  He was almost completely unscathed.  The only injuries were the few wounds the sticks created.  It was like he healed himself from the burns.

            I ran next to Arnie to help.  Sam came up running behind me.  I began picking up sticks and throwing them at the Wolf also.  Sam just watched.  "I would help," he said.  "But it's obvious I couldn't pick up one of these big sticks if I tried."

            Although we were keeping the Wolf away, we knew it would not last long.  The Wolf was growing impatient and more angry.  He started swatting at the sticks being thrown at him.  Some sticks were hit back at us and we had to dodge them.  The Wolf could no longer be restrained.

            We stopped throwing sticks.  The three of us slowly walked backwards as the Wolf neared us.

            "Run!!!" I screamed.  We all spun around and began running.

            Surprisingly, I was in the lead, jetting across the ground at high speed.  The others ran rather fast also; they were running for their lives.  Despite our speed, the Wolf was still gaining on us.

            "What's wrong?!" boomed the Wolf.  "I thought I would have to deal with two furious pigs!"

            I decided to be brave and use the ax, but then I realized that I did not have it.  I dropped it when I was trapped under sticks.  But Arnie still had his bat.

            "Arnie, give my your bat!" I yelled.

            He threw the bat at me and I caught it.  I stopped, turned around, and swung.  _Bam!  The bat crashed into the Wolf's right, front leg.  The Wolf plunged to the ground.  I jumped out of the way just in time.  But the Wolf was not down for long.  It was only seconds before he was up again._

            "What are we going to do?" asked Arnie.

            Although it was dark and we could probably hide from the Wolf, he would still find us with his excellent sense of smell.  The only thing we could do now was run.

            "We can't beat him," I said.  "So we'll just have to run.  Run!"

            We started running again.  Running seemed to be all we were able to do since we came into the woods.  And usually one of us dies anyway.

            Then I heard my brother scream.

            I spun around.  Arnie was on his back, the Wolf on top of him.  The Wolf was bending down, his mouth wide open.  I knew there was nothing I could do to save Arnie.  I closed my eyes tightly.  Seeing another brother get was something I could not bare.

            I waited to hear the violent slashing and eating, but it never came.  I hesitated to open my eyes, but I had to see what was going on.  My eyelids slowly rose to see the Wolf's jaws around Arnie's body.  I expected him any second to snap his mouth shut, killing Arnie and spilling blood everywhere.  But that did not happen.

            I stepped toward the Wolf.  He still seemed very angry, but he was not killing at the moment.  Did that mean he was calming down?  Perhaps I could get Arnie back.

            I was wrong.  Suddenly he spun around and ran off with Arnie in his mouth.  I ran after him.

            "Charlie!!" screamed Arnie.  "Help me!!"

            The Wolf was way too fast for me.  There was no way I was going to catch up with the swift beast.  I watched as they disappeared in the trees.

            The Wolf kidnapped Arnie!  How was I going to get him back?  Where were they going?  Why did the Wolf not eat Arnie?  How long will it be before he does?

            Sam came beside me.

            "Where do you think they're going?" I asked.

            "To the Wolf's house," Sam said.  "He's taking Arnie back to his house."

            "Do you mean we have to go into the Wolf's house to get Arnie back?"

            "Yes.  That's the horrible truth."

            The Wolf's house was the last place I wanted to go.  We were already in serious danger out here.  But now, we would go into the Wolf's home?  This was not going to be easy.

            "Do you know where the Wolf's house is?" I asked.

            "Yes," said Sam.  "We aren't far from it.  It should only take about ten minutes to get there."

            "Do you know where the Wolf's house is?" I askes.

            "Yes," said Sam.  "We aren't far from it.  It should only take about ten minutes to get there."

            "Do you know anything about the Wolf's house?" I asked.  "Do you know what's in there or what it looks like?"

            "I don't know," said Sam.  "But there have been many legends that told about what was in the Wolf's house.  Some say that all the bones of the Wolf's past victims are in there, hanging on the walls.  Some say that the Wolf keeps some pigs as slaves in his home, doing everything the Wolf tells them to just to stay alive.  Then there's the one about there being another Wolf in his house.  They say it's his mother and he brings her food when she's hungry."

            "Do you think any of that is true?" I asked.

            "No.  But I do know that no one has ever been within twenty feet of that house in years.  All the animals are too afraid.  We are all curious, but not curious enough to die for it.  One time, a young bird flew through one of the windows of the house.  The parents never went to save it.  They were too scared of the Wolf.  We never saw that bird again."

            "The Wolf will not like us trespassing either," I said.  "He will probably want to kill us both."

            "Then I guess we can't go," Sam said.  "Too bad."

            "What are you talking about?" I said.  "My brother is with that Wolf.  I'm not going anywhere else until I get him back."

            "Okay," said Sam.  "You're the boss."

            "So are you going to take me to the Wolf's house or not?"

            "Yes, Charlie.  I'll take you to the Wolf's house.  I'm here to help pigs survive the Wolf and finally get what they came for.  If you think you'll be able to go into the Wolf's house, save your brother, and come back out in one piece, then I guess I'll support you."

            "Thank you," I said.  "I'm sure Arnie has a very limited time to live.  I don't think the Wolf is one to put a pig in a refrigerator and save him for later.  So lead the way, squirrel."

            "Wait," said Sam.  He walked a few steps and picked up a flashlight among the rubble.  It was Arnie's.  "You'd better get yours.  We need the light."

            I did as he told me.  Soon, we were on our way, heading toward the house that no one has ever been in and lived except for the Wolf.  I began to have thoughts about what it looked like.  I imagined a gigantic mansion, very dark and spooky.  I pictured a dark sky over the house with many clouds.  Lightning flashed and rain fell.  The thunder roared with great intensity.  But of course, that was just my imagination.  I did not know anything about the house.

            "We are getting close to the Wolf's house," said Sam.  "In a minute or two, you will be able to see it.  It's rather big.  You'll know it's the Wolf's house when you see it.  It's awfully daunting."

            "It's only a house," I said.  "What's the big deal?  We just go in, get Arnie, and come back out."

            "The Wolf is too smart.  Nothing is simple with him.  If it were that simple, someone would have lived to tell about it.  As you know already, no one has."

Sam suddenly stopped walking.  There were large bushes blocking our path.  "You must part these to get through," Sam said.  "After this, you will have a good view of the house.  You must be quiet, though."

I slowly parted the bushes and Sam walked through.  I followed behind and finally saw the house we were looking for.  At first glance, I was stricken with a heavy dose of panic.  I dropped my jaw uncontrollably.  My eyes froze open and my hands shook frantically.  My legs grew weak and I knew I was going to fall.  I fell backwards to the ground.  The flashlight fell out of my hand and landed in the dirt.  The house could be no one's but the Wolf's.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

I remained on the ground for a while without attempting to get back up.  I gawked at the immense house.  It was not that the house was too scary.  Well, maybe it was a little scary.  But the size of it was what really scared me.  The house was three stories tall.  It was about twice the size of a human house!  It was made of stone.  There was a staircase leading to the front door.  There were many large windows around the house.  They were almost like evil eyes watching whatever comes near it.  There were no lights on anywhere.  Three immense stone statues stood in front of the Wolf's house.  The two outside statues stood about ten feet tall.  The statue on the left was a statue of a pig with no head.  Real blood covered the neck of the statue and part of the body.  The statue on the right was a statue of a dog with its head crushed in.  Real blood was spilled onto this statue too.  The statue in the middle was the most terrifying to look at.  It was a statue of the Wolf, standing at about twenty feet tall, making it much more sinister.  The statue's enormous mouth was open, revealing the large and very dangerous teeth.  Those huge eyes, those huge claws, that huge mouth!  Nothing is more intimidating than the Wolf.  I was scared to go any further.

"Are you scared?" asked Sam.  "I understand completely if you are."

"I'm not scared," I lied.  "I am just a little…scared.  Okay, I'm terrified.  Look at that place.  I'm not surprised no one wants to go in there.  Look at those statues."

"I don't mind the outside appearance anymore," said Sam.  "Most of the animals have gotten used to it.  But none have gotten used to it enough to go inside."

I stood up and grabbed the flashlight.  "As much as I don't want to go in, it is what we have to do.  The more time we wait, the less time we have to save Arnie.  Let's go."  I started walking towards the house, a little courage flickering in me.

"Wait," said Sam.  "I don't think the best idea is to go through the front door.  He would probably suspect that."

"Do you know another way to get in?" I asked.

"No," said Sam.  "Actually, this is the only way I know except for the windows.  But we shouldn't go through the window.  We'd have to break it open and that will make too much noise.  So I guess we must go through the front."

We walked toward the front door.  I felt more nervous every step closer to the house.  By glancing at Sam, I could tell he was a little scared too.

"Are you scared, Sam?" I questioned.

"Of course I am, Charlie," said Sam.  "This is the Wolf's house we're talking about here.  This is not like visiting a neighbor.  We could be killed and eaten!  The Wolf will kill us if he sees us."

"Just relax," I suggested.

"I don't know about this, Charlie," he said.  "Maybe I should stay out here and wait until you come back.  If you don't show up in an hour, I'll know your dead."

"Just relax," I repeated.  "I'll protect you."

"You'll protect me?" said Sam.  "You are a fat, slow pig who can barely run.  A pig versus the Wolf.  The odds aren't looking too good for you, Charlie.  And I'm supposed to believe that you will protect me?"

"Yes," I said.  "I will protect you.  Just relax."

"Would you stop telling me to relax?!!" yelled Sam.  "No one has been in the Wolf's house in years.  Why?  Because they can be eaten.  Do you know anyone that actually wants to be eaten?  I didn't think so.  That's why I can't relax.  We'll see how relaxed you are when he's chewing at your head!"

"Keep your voice down," I said.  "The Wolf doesn't need to know we're here.  We have to be silent as we go in.  We have to be alive in order to rescue Arnie.  We can't help him if we're dead."

We passed by the three statues.  I tried to avoid looking at the statue of the Wolf.  I was scared enough already.  Reminding myself of what the beast looks like was not going to help me.

"I don't know about this," said Sam.  "I thought I could do it, but I'm too scared."

"If I can do it, so can you," I said.  "I've never met the Wolf until this morning.  You've seen him many times.  I thought I was scared, yet you are worse than I am."

"You haven't seen the Wolf like I have," said Sam.  "He's unstoppable.  Ever since I was young, my parents warned me that I should never go into that house.  In fact, all the animals would tell each other that.  Everyone knows that the Wolf's house is his and his only.  We all knew that going in there would almost guarantee our deaths."

"There is no guarantee," I told him.  "It is only an animal."

"It's a gigantic, vicious, evil animal."

"But it is still an animal.  Therefore it can hurt like us, cry like us, and die like us."

"That is no ordinary animal," Sam said.  "You saw how he was almost completely regenerated.  You could barely notice where he was burned."

"Many animals regenerate," I said.  "He just recovers quicker than other animals.  We don't need twenty minutes to escape from the Wolf.  As long as he's injured for a couple of minutes, we should be able to get out of the house."

We were now at the stairs, only five steps away from the front door.  "Are you coming with me or not?" I asked.

"How about we see the Medicine Pig first?" offered Sam.  "Maybe he will know a way to outsmart the Wolf.  The Medicine Pig has survived many years without the Wolf ever touching him.  His house is not far from here either.  Actually if you look hard, you may just see his house."  Sam pointed into the trees.

I focused in that direction, trying to find the house.  I noticed a little wooden structure far in the Woods.

"Do you see it?" asked Sam.  "It should take no more than a few minutes to get there."

"I'm sorry, Sam," I said.  "But I can't risk my brother dying.  I must save him.  Going to the Medicine Pig first may take away the time I need.  I can't do what's cowardly.  I must be brave.  Do you see where we've gotten without bravery?  Hundreds of animals have died.  Only one animal has been brave so far, and he nearly defeated the Wolf.  Now it's my turn.  I must be brave.  So are you coming or not, Sam?"

Sam did not answer.  He just looked down.

I did not want to go into the house alone.  But it looked like I had to.  I walked up the steps.

"Wait!" called Sam, as he ran up the steps.  "I'm coming with you.  I'm here with you because I wanted to prevent you from dying.  So that's what I'm going to do."

"Thank you," I said.  "I'm glad to have you by my side."

So here I was, at the front door of the house that no one dares go in.  Behind this door was the unknown realm of the most dangerous animal anyone has ever seen.  We were absolutely petrified.  My hand shook violently as I reached and touched the doorknob.  I turned the knob and the door creaked open.  I jumped back quickly, expecting the Wolf to pop up suddenly.  When the door finally opened all the way, the only thing it revealed was darkness.  It was a very long and dark hallway.  Almost too dark.

"This is going to be a long night," said Sam.

We shined our light in the hallway as we approached it.  We were now inside.  I decided to leave the door open for some of the little light the moon and stars provided us.  But the door slammed closed by itself, and I could not open the door again.

"We're locked in," I said.  "I'm sure we can get out through other ways.  But right now, we have other things to do."

I led the walk.  We flashed our lights along the walls, looking at what was there.  For a moment all we saw was gray wall.  Then the wall changed into paintings.  The paintings were horrifying.  On the left wall were paintings of the Wolf killing animals.  One was a picture of the Wolf slicing pieces out of a deer.  Another was the Wolf biting into a pigs face.  Blood was in every drawing.  It was making me nauseous.  I looked at the wall to my right and I saw the most horrendous image.  The Wolf was standing tall on his hind legs, his arms high in the air.  Surrounding the Wolf were all the animals of the woods.  But they were all dead, decapitated, torn apart, and missing limbs.  Even humans were there, completely disfigured and lifeless.  A glowing red color was surrounding the Wolf as if he had some great power.  It looked like he had killed all the living creatures, him having become over the years invincible and unstoppable.  All those animals, all those pigs!  I almost wanted to cry.

"I can't believe what I am seeing," I said.  "What is all this?  Did the Wolf paint this?  Is this our future?  Are we destined to fall under the Wolf's control?"

"It can't be," said Sam.  "It just can't be."

            We walked even slower down the hallway.  If this was just the beginning of the Wolf's house, I was not sure I wanted to see the rest.  I just wanted to get out of there.

            The hallway's end was growing near.  I noticed there were two directions to choose from.  Left or right?  We stopped when we reached the intersection. The path to the right led to a large red door.  The path to the left seemed to lead to a large room, with a dim light.  I did not have any idea where either of the directions would take us.  I decide to let Sam choose.

            "So, where do we go from here, Sam?" I asked.

            "Left," he said.

            "Why left?"

            "Because there's light to the left.  And all this darkness while I'm in the Wolf's house is too creepy."

            "Okay," I said.  "To the left it is."

            We made our left turn, leaving the red door behind.  We felt just a little better as we neared the small amount of light.  But we still did not know what was in the room.  This was the Wolf's house, so prediction was impossible.

            We entered the room and looked around.  There were only two things in the room besides the small torch on the front wall.  One was a large staircase that led to the second level.  The other was a rug with a red and black diamond design.  We thought there might have been a hidden passageway in the room, since it was so empty and simple.  The room was rather large, yet there was only a staircase and a rug.

            "I don't see anything," said Sam.  "I guess we can…"

            "Aaaaahhhhhh!" a voice screamed from somewhere in the house.  It echoed throughout the house.  It sounded like Arnie!

            "Where did that come from?" I asked.

            "It sounded like it came from somewhere upstairs," Sam said.  "Come on!"

            We rushed toward the staircase.  It was made of stone and there was no banister.  I almost fell while running up the steps so quickly, but I managed to keep my balance.  The stairs were rather tall and a lot of my energy was gone by the time I got to the top.

            We arrived on the second level and found ourselves in a room with no light.  We moved very slowly.  We constantly shifted our flashlight from the left to right, to make sure there was no one in the room but us.  I pointed the light at the ground and noticed little red spots on the floor.  They seemed to be everywhere.  It was a liquid.  Some spots was dried and some spots were still wet.  I pointed the light farther ahead on the floor and saw that the entire room had red spots on the floor.  There also was the same black and black diamond rug as downstairs.  Was this blood that I saw?

            I noticed that the room smelled kind of strange.  It smelled bad, like something was rotting.  "Do you smell that?" I asked Sam.

            "It smells like, a dead animal," he said.  "A lot of dead animals."

            Then I felt something drop on my snout.  It was something wet.  Then I felt another drop.  It ran down the side of my snout and dropped off.  I watched the liquid splash onto the floor.  It was red.  I pointed the flashlight at the ceiling and found the red liquid was dropping from the ceiling in many different spots.  It was leaking from all over the ceiling!

            "The ceiling is leaking blood!" I squealed.  Another drop fell on my head and I screamed.

            I instantly started running, Sam running along beside me.  There was a brown door and a gray door ahead.  I did not care which one I went through.  I was nearly out of the blood leaking room when I heard a scream behind me.  I turned to see Sam falling through the floor, where the red and black diamond rug had been.  The rug fell through a large, circular hole in the floor.  Sam was still hanging on, dangling.

            I rushed toward him and dove.  I let the ax go so that I had an arm free.  I slid across the rough stone, bloodstained floor.  I threw out my arm for Sam to grab onto, but it was too late.  He lost his grip and fell through the large hole.  The drop was not very far, but I could no longer see him.  It was too dark to see anything.  I flashed my light in the hole to see Sam lying on the floor, not moving and his eyes closed.

            "Sam!" I called.  "Are you okay?  Wake up!"

            The squirrel's little eyes opened.  He started to move.

            "Sam, get up!" I told him.  "Can you get up?"

            Sam rose to his feet and looked up at me.  "I'm okay!" he answered.  "I fell through a hole!"

            "Yes, I know," I said.  "Do you see anything down there?"

            Sam picked up his flashlight off the floor.  "I see a door.  But I'm not strong enough to open a door like that.  I can only open a pig's door or smaller."

            "Isn't there any holes in the wall big enough for you to fit through?"

            "Yes," he said.  "But it's very small.  It's going to be a squeeze."

            "You can do it," I said.  "Meanwhile, I'll go back downstairs and go through that door we saw.  Maybe that will lead me to whatever room you're in."

            "Good idea.  But hurry, Charlie.  It's dark.  I don't want to be by myself for too long.  I'm a defenseless little squirrel."

            "I'll hurry," I said.  "I don't want to be by myself either.  I'll be right down."

            I looked toward the entrance to the room.  It was not there anymore.  All I saw was a wall.  The entrance disappeared!

            I looked down the hole again.  "The entrance is gone."

            "What do you mean the entrance is gone?" asked Sam.

            "The entrance," I said.  "It's nothing but wall."

            Where did the wall come from?  Did the Wolf trigger it?  Did it happen by itself?  Were we being trapped in an inescapable maze of a house?  We would lose without even facing the Wolf if this kept up.

            "Charlie?" called Sam.

            "Yes?"

            "What's that noise?"

            "What noise?" I asked, but then I heard it too.  It was some kind of scrape.  It sounded like it was something incredibly heavy was being dragged.  It grew louder at an alarming rate.

            I glanced up again to see the wall that had closed off the entrance was moving toward me!  Twenty feet away, fifteen now.  I had a choice now.  I could either jump down the hole with Sam and go on from there, or turn around and go through the door behind me.

            "The wall is coming at me!" I shouted.  "I have to go through this door.  I'll catch up with you soon enough.  You find your way out of there, and I'll see what I can find up here."

            The moving wall began to cover the large hole in the floor.  I quickly spun around and ran towards the door.  I opened it and almost went through, but then I remembered that I had dropped my ax to try and help Sam.  I had to go back for it.

It was going to be close.  But I did it anyway.  I needed more protection than a flashlight.  I sprinted after the ax and grabbed it.  I spun around, started to run, and fell.  The wall was closing in on me.  I struggled to my feet again and dove the rest of the way.  I soared through the door and fell hard onto my stomach.

_Slam! went the moving wall bashing against the other wall.  I frantically searched this new room for any traps or major problems that could be dangerous.  I did not see any.  There was not blood falling from the ceiling, no checkered rug on the floor, and the walls looked well in place.  But that does not mean that I safe.  I was still in the Wolf's house._

"The Wolf's house," I said in a whisper.  I realized the dangerous situation I was in.  I was by myself in the Wolf's house!  There was no light except the light from my small flashlight.  I felt very vulnerable.  I felt very scared.  What was I going to do?  Could I really handle this by myself, knowing that an enormous beast could come out at any moment?  This was a beast of great power and strength I had to face.  I had no more help.  Arnie was in his possession.  Sam was lost somewhere in the colossal house.  My youngest brother Timmy was dead.  My best friend Frank was dead too.  I was chillingly alone.  The thought made me want to cry.  I did not think I was going to make it out alive.  Maybe that was my destiny.  Perhaps no one is supposed to escape the Wolf after all.  Perhaps he is supposed to win and us pigs are just his meal.  We are here simply to try and fulfill his insatiable hunger.  Is that what we are?  My mind was losing control.  My fright overwhelmed me.

I was unable to move.  My body was not cooperating.  The Wolf was there recently.  I could feel it.  I was not too far from him.  I had second doubts about my goal.  What was the likelihood that Sam and Arnie would be okay by the time I find them?  Arnie was probably dead by now.  Why would the Wolf wait this long to eat him?  Sam would probably be dead soon to.  He would be killed for trespassing.  No animals come here because they know they will die.  With any other predator, there's usually a chance they could escape, but the Wolf is very different.  There is no other animal with the Wolf's abilities.  He is a nonstop, insane, killing monster.  With a blow of his mouth, he can cause buildings to fall!  I wanted to leave this house.  I wanted to go home.  I wanted never to see the Wolf again.  But that could not happen now.  It was too late to turn back.  I was forced to go forward.  I made the choice to enter, now I had to suffer whatever consequences that may come.

Maybe Arnie and Sam were still alive.  Could I be so scared that I lost all hope?  Maybe this was not over.  I have not seen my brother since he was taken.  How could I be sure if he was dead?  Maybe he escaped before he ever got to the house.  He could be looking for me right now, in the woods.  No.  He may be alive, but he was not in the woods.  If he was there, the Wolf would still be out there, chasing him so he could eat him.  And I knew the Wolf was not outside.  The Wolf's evil energy was strong and fresh.  It was time for me to shake off my fright and do what I had to do.

"Help!!!" a voice screamed from the left wall.  "No!!!!!"

I knew instantly who the screamer was.  It was Arnie.  He was alive!  But his scream was of fear.  He was in danger.  I suddenly broke free of my fear and rushed toward the door on the left wall.  I swung open the door to see only another wall blocking the entrance.  I banged on the wall, but it did no good.  There were two other door is in the room.  I rushed to the door on the front wall.  It was locked.  What could the Wolf be hiding?  There was only one door left, but it was in the opposite direction of Arnie's voice.  That meant it would take longer to find him.  And what if it did not open?  I could be trapped!  But the door did open, although the room was not what I expected.  It was only a few feet long and a few feet wide.  There were no other doors in the room.  How was I supposed to get out of there?

I stepped into the tiny room to examine it.  As soon as I was in the room, I felt a violent shake from the floor, Somehow, the floor shifted suddenly, then moved back in place.  Fear was creeping its way into me again.

"Now what?" I said.

Then the floor shook again, followed by a hasty, breathtaking drop.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

            _Bang!  There was a loud crash as the drop was ended.  I fell backwards and hit a wall.  I stood up and left the tiny room, now entering a brightly-lit room.  But the room was filled with a large number of doors and staircases!  There were over twenty doors and seven staircases, both up and down. How would I ever find my way out of here?  There was also one large, circular window that covered a large portion of a wall._

            "Help!" a very faint voice called.  "Charlie?  Where are you?"  It was Sam.  He was...somewhere.  I could not figure out where.

            "Help!" called another voice.  It was Arnie.

            "Where are you?!" I shouted.  "Arnie!  Sam!  I don't know where you are!"

            "Help!  Help!  Help me, Charlie!"

            I tried to follow the voices.  I went up the first staircase I saw.  It only led to an empty room.  I tried some doors, some of them locked, the rest of them leading me nowhere.

            "Where are you guys?  I can't find you.  There are too many doors!"

            Then I saw a small tunnel barely large enough for me to fit through.  I pointed my flashlight inside and saw nothing but darkness as far as I could see.  Maybe it led outside.  It was nighttime currently.  Perhaps I could use it as the escape route after finding the others.  But wait.  Sam said that there were no other ways inside the house except the front door.  A squirrel would have noticed a hole of this size.  Maybe this did not lead outside.  Then where did it lead?

            My brother and Sam continued their screaming.  What was happening to them?  Was the Wolf attacking them?  How much danger were they in?  They did not hear me when I was calling them, but I heard them.  I guess they were doing so much screaming, they could not hear over their own voices.

            Then came a thunderous sound that echoed throughout the room.  It was the roar of the Wolf.  He was angry, angrier than ever.  He knew I was here.   He probably realized that I would come for my brother.  He was going to kill us all.  My legs started to get weak.  Fear was at its peak.  I was terrified.

            "Aaaarrrgggghh!" the Wolf boomed.  That sent me running.  I jetted into the mysterious tunnel.  I did not know where else to go.  Although I was running rather fast, the tunnel still seemed very long.  But I did not even think about rest until I got all the way to the end of the tunnel.

            I finally emerged out of long tunnel and saw one blue door and a very small hole next to it.  A second later, Sam emerged from the small hole, and fell to the floor, out of breath.

            "Sam!" I called and ran to him.  "Are you okay?  What happened?  What did you see?"

            Sam, gasping for air, said "Wait a second...I'm tired..."

            I waited for him to catch his breath.

            "I saw the Wolf," he said.  "He's got Arnie.  He's waiting for you."

            "Is Arnie okay?" I asked.

            "He's fine for now," Sam said.  "But you'd better hurry.  The Wolf saw me and I had to run away.  He was going to kill me."

            "How do I get there?" I asked.  "This place is like a maze."

            "Through that door right there," the squirrel answered.  "I'm scared, Charlie.  I don't think I'm brave enough to go in there with you."

            "If you're that scared, I understand," I told him.  "I'm very scared myself.  And you are a squirrel, so it is probably much worse for you.  But I have to do this."

            I stepped to the door with my ax in one hand, my flashlight in the other.  But I did not need my flashlight because there was light from the next room showing itself from under the door.  I placed it on the floor.

"I won't be needing this right now," I said.  "I might need it later."

I reached up to turn the doorknob.

"Charlie, wait," called Sam.  "I'm coming with you.  I'm going to be there when you need help.  I may be scared, but I can still be brave.  I'm with you the whole way."

"Thanks," I said.  "You're the bravest squirrel I've ever met."

I opened the door and took a few steps forward.  Sam walked close behind me.  

The ceiling of the room was about thirty feet up.  It made the room look colossal.  A large, black chandelier hanging down about 10 feet from the ceiling lit up the room.

"There he is," Sam said.  "It's your brother."  I was so busy looking at the large room I did not notice my brother on the floor, tied up and with a human-sized shirt in his mouth.

"Arnie!" I screamed and rushed to him.  "I'm so glad to see you're alive.  Are you okay?"

Muffled noises came from Arnie.  I took the shirt out of his mouth.

"Charlie, we have to get out of here now," said Arnie.  "The Wolf will be back.  He was out looking for you.  He knew you were here."

"I'm sure he did," I said.  "The Wolf is not a stupid animal."

"I'll untie him," said Sam.

"Good," I said.  "I know a way out of here.  As soon as you get him free, Sam, we can get out of here."

But then we heard that roar.  It was that roar that only the Wolf could produce.  He was angry.  He was coming for us.

"Hurry up," I rushed Sam.  "We have to get out of here."

There was only one other door in the room.  It sounded like the Wolf was somewhere behind it.  I could hear his footsteps getting closer.

"Arnie's free!" shouted Sam.  "Let's get out of here!"

We all turned to the entrance and started running.  Before we got there, we heard the loud crash of the Wolf ramming into the other door, knocking it loose and soaring across the room.

The beast's eyes were bright red and larger than usual.  His teeth seemed extra sharp.  They were so big, so deadly.

I dove towards the door, threw it open, and rushed forward.  I was not fast enough.  The Wolf grabbed me by the head, squeezing it.  I could feel my head being compressed; the pain was extraordinary.  His claws sliced into my skin.  I could feel blood streaming down the side of my face, some of it making its way into my mouth.  Then the beast lifted me into the air, gave out a roar and threw me against across the room.  I slid across the concrete floor, leaving a nasty scrape on my back.

Arnie was next to be stopped.  The Wolf pulled back his grand arm and swung.  _Wham!  My brother was sent about twelve feet in the air and landing about thirty feet from the Wolf._

I wanted to get up so that I could help Sam.  He was so small and defenseless, even more than us pigs.  But as much as I wanted to help the squirrel, I could not keep balanced enough to stand up.  I had an awful headache.  The Wolf's grip on my head was way too powerful.  I could not think clearly at all.  My vision was blurry; there were four wolves in the room, all encircling one another.  I was nauseous too, but hopefully if I sat still the terrible feeling would go away.  What was I against the Wolf if I was unable to do something as simple as stand up?

Arnie's condition was not nearly as bad as mine.  He was up in just a few seconds.  He did not charge after the Wolf, though.  He seemed to be frozen in place, scared to move any closer to the Wolf.

The Wolf grabbed poor Sam and began to crush him with his powerful hands.  Sam struggled to release himself, but it was impossible.  There was no wiggling out of the Wolf's grip.  Those hands were mammoth weapons of death and destruction.  The beast's eyes turned red as he was killing his prey.  Sam's eyes were open wide, tears emerging rapidly from the excruciating pain.  He tried his best to get any air he could, but there was no room for air.  I could begin to hear some of his bones cracking.

"Arnie!" I managed to call out.  "Help Sam."

I could tell my brother was struggling to gain his courage again.  "I can't," he said.  "I can't do it, Charlie."

"Look at him, you fool!  He's dying!!!"

Arnie watched as the poor squirrel's body lost nearly all the life it had left.  He watched in terror until he could not take it any longer.  He lowered his head and sped across the room.  His head crashed into the Wolf's leg, then falling down from the pain.  The Wolf gave out a roar, loosening his grip on Sam.  Sam fell to the ground, broken up and unable to move.

We little animals were hurt and we had only been in the room with Wolf for a few seconds.  But although Arnie and I were hurt, we could still fight.  I tried to stand up again.  Success!  I was still a little dizzy, but I was getting better fast.  Arnie was still on the ground, next to the Wolf.

"Get up, Arnie!" I shouted.

Arnie slowly rose to his feet.  He looked up to see the enraged beast over him.  He nearly sprinted backwards when he realized how close he was to the Wolf.  Now he and I stood side by side, wondering what would happen next.

The Wolf stopped all movement and stared at us.  "You have been lucky," he boomed.  "But your luck has just ran out.  It is your time to die."

"We will not die by your hands," I said.  "We are a lot more brave than the others."

"I've noticed that," the beast said.  "That is why you've made it this far.  But you were fools to think you could actually get away.  Haven't you learned from the my last hundred meals that you can't escape me?  I am the strongest.  I am the baddest.  I am invincible.  Once four pigs, now just two.  Just like the other idiots, you actually thought you were special, like you could do the impossible and be heroes.  Now you see that you are nothing but another couple of dim-witted little pigs."

"It's not over yet, Wolf," said Arnie.

"It's been over since you stepped you first stepped into these woods!" said the Wolf.  "I guess you won't realize that you are no match for me until I have you in my jaws, eating you alive.  Then maybe you will see that my reign over these woods is forever, and you are obligated to die.  You are pigs.  You are here for nothing except satisfying my very large appetite."

"We've escaped from you before," I said.  "What makes you think we can't escape again."

"You never escaped from me!" boomed the Wolf.  "Did you get what you came for?  Have you reached what all you pigs come out here searching for?  Have you found the Medicine Pig?"

"Not yet," I confessed.

"And aren't you still in these woods with me, in extreme danger?"

I said nothing.

"Therefore you have not escaped me," said the Wolf.  "Don't you know the saying?  No one escapes the Wolf."

"That is only a saying," I told him.  "You are not invincible like you say you are.  You may be strong, fast, and an incredibly quick healer, but you are not invincible.  Therefore you are not perfect.  You can die just like your victims."

"So you think you can kill me?" asked the Wolf.  "HAHAHAHAHA!  You could not escape me, let alone kill me.  You are no match little pig.  I can pick you and your friend up right now, toss you into my mouth and chew you to your deaths."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"Nothing except this pointless conversation," he said.  "There is no need to explain myself to my future meal.  You'll be dead shortly anyway."

"Don't you see that what you are doing is wrong?" questioned Arnie.  "You are hunting and eating all day.  Your appetite is unappeasable.  Your mind is sick.  All you can think about is killing and eating.  You don't eat to live, you live to eat.  Don't you see that all us pigs want is to live our lives and help our ailing families back in Swine Village?  Not only are you killing us, but you are killing the pigs back at home who need medicine.  Don't you have a conscience?  What is wrong with you?  You are a hunger-driven machine.  You are a monster.  You are evil!"

I was impressed by Arnie's words.  And he was right.

"I don't care about you pigs and your consciences," the Wolf said.  "Your words of anger will not save you.  You can call me all the names you wish, but none of that will protect you from me.  In the end, you are just little weak pigs.  And all this talking is making me hungry.  It looks like I'm going to have to end this conversation a bit early."

I looked to Arnie.  He had no ideas.  The only option now was to fight or be eaten.  The Wolf's patience was gone.  We were his toughest prey.  He was ready to eat the pigs that gave him such a workout.  I looked at the ax in my hand.  The sharp blade could easily cut through the Wolf.  All I would need is one good aim without being hit.  But I knew that would not come easy.  I placed the flashlight on the ground.

Arnie lifted his bat high into the air.  "Are you ready, Charlie?" he asked.  I nodded.  Arnie looked into the face of the evil beast.  "This will not be an easy victory Wolf.  I promise you that.  CHARGE!!!!!!"


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

            I reached the Wolf first.  I was on the verge of swinging my ax but the Wolf's large hand was coming at me fast.  I bent down to avoid the collision.  Arnie got a hit in with his first swing.  His bat crashed into the Wolf's leg and the beast nearly fell down from it.

            I ran behind the Wolf to try to ax him without him noticing.  I lifted my weapon again, but then came the Wolf's tail swinging.  His tail hit my ax, knocking it out of my hand and about ten feet away.  I rushed to get it, but the tail came around again, knocking me flat on my stomach.  Still on the floor, I was hit with the tail twice before I managed to crawl out of the tail's way.

            I got to my feet and started searching for my ax again.  The ax was too far away for me to get to it without being slammed by the Wolf's tail.  I was trapped.

            Arnie was still okay.  He was still hitting at the Wolf with the bat.  _Bam! Bam!  It seemed like he should have been doing a lot of damage.  But his hits were not nearly as powerful as his first swing.  The first one took most of his energy.  Now the bat was not hurting the Wolf; it only angered him._

            "Arnie!" I called.

            He did not hear me.  He was too busy trying to hit the Wolf.

"Die!" Arnie yelled while swinging wildly.  "Die you beast!"

Arnie was staying in one spot, swinging.  It would not be hard for the Wolf to grab him and kill him.

            "Arnie, get out of there!" I screamed.

            I had to do something.  But how was I going to get past the Wolf's tail?

            The tail swooped left, then right, then left again.  It was going too fast to try to run past.  The furry tail came down again and I reached out to grab it.  The tail went up again and I was lifted up with it.

I was moving so fast!  The Wolf must have had some really strong muscles.  He was swinging that furry tail of his like he was trying to kill someone with it.  Wait!  He was trying to kill me with it!  Because now he was swinging it faster than ever.  He was trying to fling me off.  I held onto the tail the best that I could.  But I was growing dizzy.  And soon sick.  The incredibly fast movement was too much.  Perhaps it was because I was so small compared to the Wolf, it made the movement seem much faster.  Up, down, left, right.  The room was a large intertwined blur that swayed back and forth.  I needed to get down from there.

I looked down as I was being swung.  I could make out two very large feet

shifting to the left.  The Wolf was moving towards the wall.  I turned my head to see that I was just inches from colliding into the wall.  Each swing was more powerful and closer to collision.  I decided to jump off, but I waited too long.  Before I could let go of the Wolf's tail, I felt the awful pain of crashing into the stone wall.  Pain spread throughout my body at a horrifying speed and consumed me.  I opened my mouth to scream, but the pain took even my ability to do that.  Once again, I was on the ground.

But now I was lying next to my ax.  I had a weapon again.  

Arnie was still swatting at the Wolf with his baseball bat.  "Don't you touch him!" he yelled.  "You are dead, Wolf!  Dead!"

Arnie's anger was affecting his concentration.  He was swinging his bat in random directions.  He was hardly hitting the Wolf.

I needed to help him again; this time I had the ax.  I struggled to my feet.  I grabbed the ax held it tightly.  I ran toward the Wolf.

            I was not quick enough.  The Wolf snatched Arnie's bat out of his hand.  He examined the bat and then looked back at my brother.  In a blink, the Wolf's hand whipped down and smashed the bat into Arnie's face.  Arnie's body slammed into the floor and slid sideways about nine feet.  A trail of blood was left behind.  The top of the bat was covered in Arnie's blood.

            The Wolf lifted the bat again, but that's when I struck him.  My ax came down on his arm and sliced deeply into it.  The Wolf hollered and dropped the bat.  He looked at his bleeding arm.  I pulled the ax behind me again and made another swing.  I put so much force into that swing that even the Wolf himself would question his strength.  This second swing was far better than the first.  The sharp blade chopped through his arm completely.  I felt the blade enter his tough skin and leave a split second later.  His forearm was no longer attached to the rest of his body.  It landed on the floor, bounced a little, then fell motionless except for the blood that flowed out and created a red puddle underneath it.

            The Wolf's scream that followed will haunt me forever.  I dropped my ax from the sound and cringed.  But I quickly got over it when I saw my brother again.  I rushed to Arnie and got him to his feet.  The right side of his face was covered in blood, but he was still okay.  He was alive and could run.  That was all that mattered.  

"Let's get out of here!" I said.

We ran towards the door.  The Wolf continued his screaming and hollering.  Most likely the Wolf had never experienced a pain of this intensity before.  Now maybe he realizes what his prey feels like.  Or he is just a much angrier Wolf.

A few steps away from the door, I felt something grab my leg which caused me to fall down.  I looked down to see the Wolf's severed arm latched to my leg.  The grip was rather strong for an arm with no body.  Arnie kicked the arm for me and it let go.

Again, we ran.  I grabbed the motionless Sam and my flashlight on the way out.  I swung open the door, rushed in and headed for the tunnel.  The Wolf's screams echoed through it.  But half the way down, the screams stopped.  Now the sound was his feet slamming to the floor.  He was coming after us.

"Come on!!" I yelled at my brother behind me.  He was not moving as fast as he needed to.  "Faster!  Rest comes later.  He's gaining on us!"  Arnie struggled to quicken his movement, speeding up just a little bit.

I glanced passed Arnie and saw the Wolf entering the tunnel.  The Wolf's speed was remarkable.  But how was he moving through it so fast?  The tunnel was far too small for him, yet he was zooming through like it was not a problem.

Arnie and I were nearing the end of the tunnel.  Then we heard the Wolf yell out.  He was stuck!  He had completely stopped moving.  Perhaps the tunnel was just too small for him after all.  But why would he have a tunnel in his own house that was too small for him to go through?

Although the Wolf was stuck, he still had his one arm free.  He reached out quickly and grabbed hold of Arnie by the leg.  Arnie was being pulled back towards the  Wolf.  I grabbed my brother's arms and pulled in my direction.  Arnie screamed from the pain.  The Wolf's strength was great, almost too great to compete against.  But somehow, I managed to pull Arnie free from the beast and we fell backwards and out the end of the tunnel.

We both stood up quickly.  The Wolf tried to squeeze his way through the tight space, but it did not work.  He was only making himself more stuck.

"Aaaaaarrrrggghhh!!" hollered the Wolf.  We could feel his breath hit us, rushing from out of the tunnel.  The smell was really bad.  We backed away and neared the window.

"We should go through this," said Arnie.  "The front entrance is too far away and we would probably get lost trying to get back there."

"Yeah, you're right," I said.  "First we have to break open this window."

"With what?" asked Arnie.

I lifted my flashlight and gave it a mighty throw.  It exploded through the glass, breaking apart most of it.  A few pieces fell on us but it was not too painful.  "There's our exit," I said.

"Finally," said Arnie.  "We can get out of here.  I think I saw the Medicine Pig's house not too far from here.  Did you see it?"

"Yeah," I said.  "I did.  That's his house alright."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Arnie said.  "Let's go!  Come on!"

I looked behind me to see the Wolf backing out of the tunnel.  He was no longer coming for us.  He had given up.  The Wolf had turned back, crawling in the opposite direction, defeated.  But this cannot be.  The Wolf does not give up that easily.  Perhaps he's going a different way to get to us.  Either way, we had to get moving.  We were still way too close to the Wolf to just be standing there.

"Let's go, Charlie," Arnie repeated.  "The window is not that high.  We can climb out."

I did not move.  Although I knew that we were now able to get out of this place alive, perhaps even get what we needed from the Medicine Pig, there was still a problem that could not be ignored.  I began to think about what the Wolf said.  "…my reign over these woods is forever, and you are obligated to die," the beast said.  "You are pigs.  You are here for nothing except satisfying my very large appetite."

This was going to continue.  The death of our fellow pigs would go on.  Even if we were to convince the Medicine Pig to come to Swine Village, what was stopping the Wolf from coming into our village and terrorizing?  The Wolf was still alive, therefore he is still an immense danger to us all.  As long as the Wolf went on breathing, he could go on killing; he could continue to kill our family and our friends.  He had to be stopped…now.

"Charlie, we have to get out of here," said Arnie.  "Let's go."

"I can't yet," I said.  "Here, take Sam."  I gave the crippled squirrel to Arnie.  "Go on to the Medicine Pig's house.  I will meet you there."

"What are you talking about?" asked Arnie.  "You're coming with me."

"No I'm not, Arnie."

"Huh?  You're not staying here with the Wolf are you?  Of course you are coming!"

"No, I must stay and fight."

"Fight?!" exclaimed Arnie.  "Fight the Wolf?!!  He nearly killed us all and you're trying to go back?  What is the matter with you?  We got away, Charlie.  We are still alive.  And if we hurry, we can get the medicine and get home before he ever gets to us again."

"We can not let this continue anymore, Arnie," I told him.  "The Wolf must die.  Two pigs escaping will not end a thing.  It just means that we were lucky.  We were just two pigs who somehow managed to get away from the Wolf without getting killed.  Aren't you tired of running?  Don't you want to be able to get all your medical needs without worrying about being eaten alive?  Do you want pigs to go on forever terrified of this evil monster who killed our brother?!"

"No…of course not," said Arnie.  "I guess you have a point."

"So I must do this, Arnie" I said.  "I must fight.  This hell ends tonight.  The Wolf must die."

"That sounds good and all, but you're forgetting something."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You don't have a weapon," Arnie said.

"What?  Of course I…"

I looked at my hands and saw nothing in them.  Where was my ax?  Did I leave it behind?  Yes, I did.  I dropped it when I heard the Wolf horrible scream.

"So now what?" asked Arnie.  "Are you still going to fight the Wolf?  You don't have a weapon and you are a pig…a little weaponless pig.  I completely understand what you are trying to do, but you must pay attention to the facts, Charlie.  You haven't got a chance."

I thought about his words.  Although what he said had much truth to it, my hate was still very strong.  My friend Frank and my brother Timmy were still dead; the Wolf took their lives away.  I could not let this go.  This could go on possibly forever if the beast was not stopped.  Despite my horrible odds, I had to go back.

"I'm going to fight," I said firmly.  "Perhaps I can get my ax back.  Maybe he never picked it up and it's still lying there.  I might have a chance."

Arnie nodded.  "Okay.  Do what you have to do.  I'll be right outside and waiting."

"Just go on to the Medicine Pig," I told him.  "I can meet you there."

"No.  You may need my help.  If it sounds like you are in trouble, I will come back in and help you."

"Alright," I agreed.  "If I'm not back in about 10 minutes, just go without me."

"Okay."

Arnie lifted himself onto the windowsill.  He held Sam close, making sure he did not drop him.  "Hey Charlie!" he yelled.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."  And with that, Arnie hopped out the window and onto the ground outside.  "Good thing I have your flashlight," he said.

I turned toward the tunnel.  Was I really about to try to hunt down the Wolf?  I am not a predator, I'm the prey; yet I am out to kill the beast.  I conjured up as much courage that I had.  I reached deep inside myself, trying to pull out any additional strength and bravery I had in there.  I stepped toward the tunnel entrance and hesitated.  

_Come on, Charlie,_ I thought.  _You can do this.  You are the bravest, you are the strongest, you are the predator.  The Wolf is the little pig now.  He is wounded.  He is not invincible.  He can die too.  You are here to kill him._

I was convinced now.  I was ready to do what I had to do.  I took one last deep breath and dashed down that tunnel like I had magic shoes on.  It almost felt like I was flying.  I did not even feel my feet hitting the floor.  I guess my anger was too strong to care about something like that.


End file.
